The fair will be held Aug. 26-29, said office manager Carol Saari.

“We are very excited that we will be able to have a more normal affair,” she said.

A tentative date had been set in December, but the scale was aided by a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services order earlier this morning easing limits on outdoor events. Instead of a maximum of 1,000 people, outdoors gatherings now allow 20 people per 1,000 square feet.

“The carnival was very excited about that change,” Saari said.

Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Ellie Edwards, then 12, of Eagle River, Wisconsin, throws a dart at a balloon to win a prize on the midway of the Houghton County Fair in 2019.

One issue that still needs to be ironed out is if the restrictions refer to the 17-acre driving park, or if they would also apply to the individual event spaces. The monster truck rallies are tentatively planned, but would be the most likely to be affected by the strictest interpretation, Saari said.

“They are willing to wait and see how it plays out,” she said.

The fair will include livestock shows, horse shows, and events ranging from an outdoor sea lion show to performances by the Zuzu African Acrobats, a group from Kenya whose appearances have included “America’s Got Talent!”

Still exhibits will also return. Though people are normally restricted to projects from the past year, they will be allowed to extend it to anything completed in the past two years, according to the fair’s Facebook page. However, the entry limit will stay the same: one per class in the youth and open departments.

Last year’s fair was cancelled due to COVID-19. However, the youth livestock auction went on as usual, while people also had a drive-up option for purchasing fair foods.