The Delaware State Fair has cancelled its Sensory Friendly Carnival program following criticism from Autism Delaware, which the fair falsely claimed it had partnered with to develop the program.
The program, which was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, was cancelled on Monday at about 4 p.m. on the state fair's Facebook page.
State fair General Manager Danny Aguilar apologized for the cancellation, as well as the claim that Autism Delaware was partnering on the event. Aguilar said the fair "was merely attempting to follow a model that has been used by other fairs in other communities throughout the U.S."
"We understand that the Delaware State Fair has a lot of loud sounds and bright lights, and we will continue to work hard to better understand the needs of our communities as we consider future programming," Aguilar said.
Prior to its cancellation, the state fair advertised the program as an opportunity for children with sensory needs – often associated with developmental disabilities like autism and ADHD – to experience the fair in a less overwhelming way. The fair previously planned to dim lighting, lower music volumes and minimize loudspeaker announcements during the program.
Autism Delaware shared a press release on Facebook stating they did not support the state fair's claim to be sensory friendly about five hours prior to the Sensory Friendly Carnival program's cancellation on Monday. The nonprofit said it was not consulted about a partnership or the inclusion of Autism Delaware as a resource on the fair's FAQ page.
The post explained that Autism Delaware visited the fairgrounds in a "good faith effort" to improve accessibility and inclusion, but the ultimately determined that the fair "is not properly equipped to provide a safe experience for those with autism."
The Facebook post was shared over 1,400 times.
"The whole thing's a shame, and we're unfortunate to be caught up in it," said Dan Getman, director of development for Autism Delaware.
Getman said he spoke to the Delaware State Fair on Monday and told organizers that Autism Delaware is "happy to keep the doors open" if the fair wants assistance in the future. But as it stands now, the fairgrounds are "not conducive to somebody with sensory issues."
For example, the fair said it would provide rooms where anyone who felt overwhelmed could "cool off." However, the rooms were on the opposite side of the fairgrounds from where the Sensory Friendly Carnival was set to take place. Getman said there was also little signage, if any, directing people towards the rooms.
Getman acknowledged that installing sensory-friendly infrastructure, like a closer sensory building, headphones or nonverbal communication tools, may be difficult, but is necessary to truly make a place safe and accessible to kids with autism.
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"We commend anybody in the community that is taking kids with autism into consideration when they're putting their events or their programs on," Getman said. "I welcome them to call our event team and and lean on them for support in the future, but just do it first before you put a PR statement down."
The Delaware State Fair is offering refunds to anyone who purchased a ticket to the Sensory Friendly Carnival program.
Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on X at @h_edelman.
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