Huron River Fest canceled

HURON — Crowds won't be flooding the Huron Boat Basin this year for the River Festival because of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The Huron River Fest joined a growing list Monday of yearly events forced to cancel — including Basket Festival, Ohio Bike Week and the Walleye Festival — due to the virus. "We understand the large financial impact that the festival has on our community, civic organizations, vendors and community as a whole," committee president William Biddlecombe said. "But ultimately, we have to take the health and safety of our residents, visitors and volunteers into account." Hundreds of people have turned out to Huron every summer for the past 29 years for the River Festival. But the Huron River Fest Committee decided to cancel the event, which was scheduled for the second weekend of July this year, because of the restrictions on large gatherings and social distancing orders. "The River Fest planning process is a year-long thing, and there was a lot that would've needed to be in place by now for us to have a festival that just hasn't been possible given various hurdles created by the COVID-19 pandemic," Biddlecombe said. "If I had a guarantee that Ohio's state-mandated ban on large gathering would be lifted by July, we probably would be having a different conversation right now." The committee is a nonprofit organization and relies on donations to put on the festival each year. Biddlecombe added it would be inappropriate to ask businesses to stretch themselves further financially, given the negative impact the virus has on the economy. The festival will honor its 2020 scholarship commitments, and the committee will crown 2019 River Fest Queen's Court First Attendant Caylin McCormick, the 2020 Huron River Fest queen. She will represent the festival along with 2019 queen Alaina Parkinson throughout the year and both will receive scholarships when they graduate high school. Biddlecombe said people have been understandably disappointed by the cancellation but also understanding of why it was necessary. The Huron River Festival will return on July 9-11, 2021. "Our announcement allows us to regroup for 2021, as well as allow our vendors, musical acts, and other entertainment hopefully enough time to find other events to be a part if that's even possible," Biddlecombe said. "We weren't the first event to be canceled this year, and I'm sure we won't be the last."