MARSHALL — It’s news that a lot of area residents have been waiting to hear, Deloris Richards said. A year after COVID-19 concerns closed everything down, the Lyon County Fair will be returning this August.

“A lot of people are really happy. I’ve been getting a lot of calls,” said Richards, the secretary of the Lyon County fair board.

The county fair will run from Aug. 11-15 in Marshall. Richards said the carnival midway and some of the entertainment events planned for last year’s fair will be coming to this year’s fair instead.

Big community gatherings like county fairs were one of the many things put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Counties around Minnesota — and even the Minnesota State Fair — announced they would be canceling fair events.

Lyon County didn’t have a fair in 2020, but Richards said a lot of the entertainers originally booked for last year had their contracts carry over in hopes the fair would return in 2021.

This spring, fair organizers were waiting to hear whether COVID restrictions would be lifted in time to hold events.

Minnesota State Fair organizers said earlier this spring that they are proceeding with plans for the 2021 fair.

“When they announced the State Fair was going to go on, then the county fairs would be going along,” Richards said. It was also positive to hear from Gov. Tim Walz that Minnesota’s COVID restrictions would be lifted by July, she said.

Richards said attractions like Merriam’s Midway will be returning for this year’s fair. There are also new events planned, like a strongman performance and racing pigs. The Lyon County Fair will also feature musical performances, including performances by the Whitesidewalls and the LifeLight Christian music festival. On Aug. 13, singer and guitarist Jason Pritchett will be performing.

“He’s a very good singer,” Richards said. She thought people would be excited to hear Pritchett.