Fall Festival of Leaves Committee Cancels 2020 Event Due to Pandemic

Pictured: 2019 Fall Festival of Leaves Royalty – Huntington High School’s Phoebe Cockrell (center) is pictured with her court (left to right) 1st Attendant Marissa Prince (Paint Valley), 2nd Attendant A’Mya Wingfield (Unioto), 3rd Attendant Samantha Truitt (Unioto) and 4th Attendant Alyson Murphy (McClain). 

Presented by Hometown-Motors, Inc.

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed another local event, as the Fall Festival of Leaves Committee has decided to cancel the 2020 event in Bainbridge, Ohio.

The Festival made the announcement via Facebook Wednesday.

“This was a difficult decision and we did not take it lightly” stated the release. The festival was scheduled for October 15-18, 2020 which would have been its 52nd year.

The Committee cited the abundance of caution, social distancing requirements and the potential revenue reduction from having no midway and amusement rides. The revenue generated each festival is necessary for the following year.

Concern for financial health has been a main reason many events have been cancelled to date, such as the Ashville 4th of July Celebration, Feast of the Flowering Moon and some of Ohio’s County Fairs.

Vinton County was one of the first to announce the cancellation of its fair, citing financial concerns hoping to avoid risking future fairs. That position was taken into the Ross County Fair Board’s decision to cancel its Senior Fair in favor of what will be a scaled down Junior Fair Livestock Show this August.