2020 Bonner County Rodeo canceled on COVID-19 concerns

By Reader Staff

Organizers of the Bonner County Rodeo announced July 14 that the 2020 event, which had been scheduled to run Aug. 14-15, will be canceled due to concerns over COVID-19.

“It is with a heavy heart that I must advise our Rodeo fans that the 2020 Bonner County Rodeo in Sandpoint, ID will be canceled,” Bonner County Fairgrounds and Facility Director Darcey Smith wrote in a Facebook post. “The Rodeo Committee did not come to this decision with ease.”

While the rodeo has been put on hold this year, Smith assured commenters on the Fairgrounds Facebook page that the County Fair is still going forward as planned, scheduled to run Wednesday, Aug. 19-Saturday, Aug. 22.

While working to put in place a plan to guard patrons against COVID-19, Rodeo Committee members had “also been trying to make the most responsible decision,” Smith wrote.

“Due to large financial factors for this year’s Rodeo, the decision was made to cancel,” she added. “We hung on as long as we could to try and give our Rodeo family a great event for the contestants and the fans. We are incredibly saddened by this decision, and hope you understand.”

According to the Facebook post, full refunds will be given to those who have already purchased tickets. If patrons bought tickets online they will be refunded electronically. Those who purchased pre-sale tickets are asked to bring the ticket to the Fair Office (4203 N. Boyer Road) to get their money back. Sponsors and vendors will be contacted individually.

For more information and updates on the 2020 Bonner County Fair, go to bonnercountyfair.com.

While we have you ...

... if you appreciate that access to the news, opinion, humor, entertainment and cultural reporting in the Sandpoint Reader is freely available in our print newspaper as well as here on our website, we have a favor to ask. The Reader is locally owned and free of the large corporate, big-money influence that affects so much of the media today. We're supported entirely by our valued advertisers and readers. We're committed to continued free access to our paper and our website here with NO PAYWALL - period. But of course, it does cost money to produce the Reader. If you're a reader who appreciates the value of an independent, local news source, we hope you'll consider a voluntary contribution. You can help support the Reader for as little as $1.

You can contribute at either Paypal or Patreon.

Contribute at Patreon Contribute at Paypal

You may also like...

Close [x]

Want to support independent local journalism?

The Sandpoint Reader is our town's local, independent weekly newspaper. "Independent" means that the Reader is locally owned, in a partnership between Publisher Ben Olson and Keokee Co. Publishing, the media company owned by Chris Bessler that also publishes Sandpoint Magazine and Sandpoint Online. Sandpoint Reader LLC is a completely independent business unit; no big newspaper group or corporate conglomerate or billionaire owner dictates our editorial policy. And we want the news, opinion and lifestyle stories we report to be freely available to all interested readers - so unlike many other newspapers and media websites, we have NO PAYWALL on our website. The Reader relies wholly on the support of our valued advertisers, as well as readers who voluntarily contribute. Want to ensure that local, independent journalism survives in our town? You can help support the Reader for as little as $1.