By Craig Horleman

HARRINGTON — The Delaware State Fair announced Wednesday two new shows to round out its 2021 concert schedule and clarified its seating and mask policy for the summer event.

The classic Southern rock group 38 Special will play the fair July 30, while a free concert featuring local favorites Club Phred, The Funsters and Kristen & The Noise will kick things off on the first day of the fair, July 22 at 8 p.m.

38 Special is known for its hits such as “Hold On Loosely,” “Rockin’ Into the Night” and “Caught Up in You.” Tickets for the 8 p.m. show go on sale Friday at noon here.

The band last performed in Delaware in October 2017, when it played Dover Downs’ Rollins Center.

No tickets will be required for the opening night concert.

During a Facebook Live event Wednesday afternoon, Danny Aguilar, assistant general manager for the fair, noted that, despite health concerns, last year’s event went smoothly, and this year’s fair should go even better.

“The fair is going to look and feel and sound very much like we saw things in 2019. So that brings a lot of excitement to us,” he said.

Following guidance from the Division of Public Health, the governor’s office and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mr. Aguilar said those who are fully vaccinated will not have to wear a mask during the 2021 state fair.

“If you are not fully vaccinated, you will be strongly encouraged to wear a face mask coming into the Delaware State Fair and throughout the Delaware State Fair,” he said.

This also includes children between kindergarten and age 12. Vaccination cards will not be required upon entrance.

As far as seating goes, the pod configuration and every-other-row availability in the grandstand will stay in place, as announced earlier this year. However, more seats have been added.

“We will, in fact, have pods, and in the stadium grandstand areas, seating in the two-, four- or six-person configurations. We have moved the pods a little bit closer, since 6 feet has been redefined as 3 feet in regards to social distancing,” Mr. Aguilar said.

“So we have additional inventory. So if you think or thought that tickets were sold-out for a particular show in a particular area, we (now) have seats available in all sections.”

Mr. Aguilar encouraged patrons to check the fair website for concert ticket availability.

The new shows join an already revised concert lineup that includes the children’s show “Blippi: The Musical” at 3 and 6 p.m. July 23; Lauren Alaina with Maddie & Tae at 7:30 p.m. July 24; Riley Green with Drew Green at 7:30 p.m. July 26; Tracy Byrd with Jo Dee Messina at 7:30 p.m. July 27; HARDY with Jon Langston on July 28 at 7:30 p.m.; and contemporary Christian artists Zach Williams and Stephen Stanley on July 31 at 7:30 p.m.

As a promotion, the state fair has joined with the DE Wins! initiative, aimed at encouraging eligible Delawareans to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

All Delawareans 12 and older who have been vaccinated in Delaware are eligible to win gate admission passes and concert tickets to the Delaware State Fair.

A submission form can be found on the fair’s website.

Entries can be made until 11:59 p.m. June 28. Winners will be selected June 29 and announced June 30. Only the winners selected will be required to provide proof of vaccination.

Those who win must pick up their tickets from the fairgrounds’ main office, with proof of identification.

Prize packages include four gate admissions and one track pod, which includes four concert tickets. One package for each of the seven concerts will be given away.

The Delaware State Fair will run July 22-31 in Harrington.