The Vancouver Island Exhibition will mark the first major event on the central Island since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. (VIEX Instagram/NanaimoNewsNOW illustration)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

VIEX is back!

VIEX announces August return to Beban Park, rides & live music included

Jul 2, 2021 | 2:53 PM

NANAIMO — Summer events season in Nanaimo received a significant jolt with the return of the Vancouver Island Exhibition at the Beban Park Fairgrounds.

One of the oldest agricultural fairs in western Canada announced on its website it will stage an event from Aug. 27-29 with a required communicable disease plan.

A promotional poster for the event showed rides, food trucks, animals and music will be included.

The fair will be a modified, scaled down event.

“Being that we have now less than 2 months to do a years worth of planning, there is only so much the board and team of volunteers can do but we assure you we are working around the clock to bring as much fun and excitement as we can this summer,” read a statement on the VIEX website.

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Fairs, festivals and trade shows can return to normal under the current step 3 of the province’s re-open plan, provided a communicable disease plan is in place.

Fair officials are planning to have one entertainment stage in the main parking lot, fewer food trucks than usual and no beer garden due to the exhaustive permitting process.

Treasurer Stephen Kass said admission fees to this year’s fair will be reduced. He expected the event will include abbreviated hours on Friday, Aug 27 to kickoff the event.

Extra hand washing stations, masks will be recommended indoors, while social distancing guidelines will be in place among several safety protocols.

Virtual content from the VIEX will be available for people not ready to attend large scale events. Video content, contests and live streams are planned.

A communicable disease plan must be in place for such events to proceed, which isn’t restricted by capacity limits under the stage 3 re-open plan.

What should have been the 126^th addition of the VIEX at Beban Park was cancelled last year in favour of a virtual fair.

The return of the VIEX is the first major summer event on the mid island to announce its return in the COVID-19 era.

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