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Concerts, Fairs Planned Throughout Sacramento Region In Hopes Restrictions Lifted By Fall

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – For almost a year, COVID-19 has canceled a lot of fun – things like concerts, weddings and county fairs – but with the vaccine rollout underway, is there enough confidence to plan big events this year? Some are willing to take the chance.

"Fingers crossed we're going to do it," said Sharon, a Sacramento resident eager to attend a concert.

Golden 1 Center has concerts planned as early as summer and all the way into the fall. Many are events rescheduled from last year. A spokesperson for the arena said, "We look forward to welcoming guests and fans back to the arena for a robust lineup of concerts and shows once permitted to do so."

"I'm really looking forward to things opening back up, I think it really needs to," said Sylvia Gee, a Sacramento resident.

In El Dorado County, organizers are promising a fair in September with a full carnival and monster truck show.

"I have a shirt that I bought that says 'I miss live music and hugs,' " said Kate Whelan, a Sacramento based event planner.

Whelan helped create the California Events Coalition to help advocate for the event industry in the face of pandemic shutdowns. She said hopeful thinking about the fall is necessary for business.

"You can't wait until we know whether or not it's safe to plan these types of events. Most of these events take months and months of preparation to get everything organized," Whelan said.

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Whelan said the pandemic has completely shut down the live event industry. She's telling her clients who want events in 2021 to have different dates ready in case of delays.

"Some of them are asking us to postpone again to the fall. Sometimes it's their third postponement," Whelan said.

If events do go forward this fall, Whelan said planners might have to prepare for a new reality: "Testing and vaccines may be apart of entry to these types of events."

CBS13 reached out to Sacramento County about the possibility of large scale events this fall. We were told the county is currently in the purple tier, which does not allow things like festivals or concert venues, and it's unclear when the county will be exiting that tier

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