Jackson County Fair is not cancelled, staff say it will be bigger

Central Point, Ore. — A handful of links circulating on social media claim the 2017 Jackson County Fair is cancelled. The links gained enough traction to prompt dozens of calls and texts, but staff say it couldn’t be further from the truth.

“It’s not cancelled,” director, Helen Funk says, “there’s no way we’re gonna cancel your fair!”

The posters at the Jackson County Expo will stay right where they are, announcing the 2017 fair taking place this July. But links circulating on social media have some people thinking otherwise.

“We got a bunch of screenshots from well-meaning friends and family of the fairgrounds just asking what is up?” Funk says.

It’s a simple headline, and depending on the link, it will tell you the fair isn’t happening due to terrorist threats or not having enough workers. If you click on the actual webpage though, you’ll find it’s all a lie.

“It looks legit when you’re looking at it,” Funk says, “but if you actually click on it and follow the link as you’re reading through it actually says ‘this is fake news’.”

Fake news that’s garnered more than 20,000 hits according to one site, but there’s several others. And while Funk says it doesn’t look they can do much to take down the fake links, they can issue a warning: research before you share.

“A lot of us are apt to just believe what we see immediately,” Funks says, “we take a headline in and we automatically want to share it out. But as far as something this big and it impacts so many people, track it down and make sure that it’s real.”

The fair is scheduled for July 12th through the 16th. Not only is it still happening, but Funk says it will be better than ever. For the first time they are offering a season pass for the fair, and the carnival will be bigger this year than in years past. Click HERE for more information or to buy tickets.