Because of the state budget crisis, state employees are expected to be take unpaid leave the first and third Fridays of each month, but this won’t work for Napa Valley Exposition, local officials said.

The furloughs, which start Feb. 6, will occur as activities pick up for busy weekends, Expo CEO Joe Anderson told the fair board Tuesday.

Because all fairs face this problem, the California Department of Food and Agriculture will try to get an adjustment of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s executive order, Anderson said. His staff could take off Wednesdays, for example.

Whatever the state allows, “at fair time all bets are off,” Anderson said. During the Town and Country Fair in August, “you do what you have to do.”

Director Myrna Abramowicz said any furloughing of Expo employees would not help the state with its massive budget deficits. Fairs are supported by horse racing revenues and their own enterprises.

Anderson vowed that no fair rental would be hurt by a furlough. “No matter what they say, we’ll make sure we accommodate our clients,” he said.