Heat causes Great American State Fair to close temporarily and other disruptions

A blistering heat wave gripping Washington, D.C., prompted the Great American State Fair to close for hours Friday afternoon, while forcing delays and cancellations at other celebrations in the region.

Early Friday afternoon, Freedom 250 announced that the Great American State Fair on the National Mall would temporarily close until 5 p.m. due to heat.

“The safety and well-being of our guests, volunteers, performers, vendors, and staff is our highest priority,” the group said in a statement on X.

The D.C. fire department told the Washington Post that it had treated people at the fair for heat-related illnesses Friday. Independence Day weekend is typically busy for the department, and this weekend is no different, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that in the hours before the fair closed Friday afternoon, the department responded to 44 patients at the event, 11 of whom were transported to local hospitals “due to various illnesses or injury.” The spokesperson said they did not know how many of the incidents were related to the heat. Other health care providers are on the Mall, too, they added.

“It is going to be a very busy weekend. We know that there are going to be heat-related illnesses on and off the Mall, and we encourage our residents and visitors to take precautions if you’re going to be out in the heat,” the spokesperson said.

Despite the scorching heat, the annual Capitol Fourth Concert was still held Friday evening, U.S. Capitol Police said Friday morning.

The concert will still begin at 8 p.m., Capitol Police said, but the public gates will now open at 7 p.m. due to the heat.

“People at risk for heat-related health issues should exercise extra caution,” they said in a statement.

Temperatures on Friday and Saturday are expected to exceed 100 degrees, and officials have issued extreme-heat advisories.

“To ensure a safe concert, all guests are strongly encouraged to bring an ample supply of water to stay hydrated,” Capitol Police said in the statement. Nonglass water bottles and coolers are allowed, they said.

The concert, which takes place on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, featured performers including Patti LaBelle, Alan Jackson, Chicago, Kool & the Gang as well as the National Symphony Orchestra, the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” the Choral Arts Society of Washington and the Joint Armed Forces Chorus.

The decision to go forward with the concert came after Capitol Police banned the public from attending the concert’s Thursday-evening rehearsal due to the heat.

The concert is usually held on Independence Day, but it was moved to Friday because of the Freedom 250 fireworks and programming scheduled for the National Mall on the Fourth.

The Capitol Fourth Concert is broadcast by PBS and carried by public television stations nationwide.

Although the concert is set to go forward, other holiday events in the Washington area have been called off entirely.

Due to heat, Independence Day parades have been canceled in Leesburg, Virginia, as well as in Laurel and Takoma Park, Maryland.

“In this heat, parading is particularly risky,” Tara Egan, president of the Takoma Park Independence Day Committee, wrote in a Thursday email to event participants and volunteers, which the Post reviewed.

“We feel that it would not be safe, or responsible, to ask our community to march or to gather in this heat,” Egan added.

On Friday evening, Freedom 250 announced that the Great American State Fair would open at noon Saturday instead of at 10 a.m.