Penticton’s Peachfest cancelled for a 2nd year due to COVID-19

Uncertainty over pandemic restrictions has resulted in the cancellation of the Penticton Peach Festival for a second year.

The festival board held their monthly meeting May 26 where an unanimous decision was made to cancel the event for 2021.

"This was an extremely difficult decision and it really breaks my heart. We would love to do something for Penticton, but we can’t commit to anything because there are still a lot of assumptions being made about what life will be like in August,” Peachfest President Don Kendall said in a media release issued today, May 28.

He said the board would welcome an opportunity to hold the event, but without a clear path that is independent of a potential change in restart plans by the province, it wasn’t possible to proceed.

The B.C. Restart plan released by the provincial health officer on May 25 states that fairs and festivals with COVID-19 safety plans may operate, but there are no concrete guidelines for capacity, which made it very difficult for the Peachfest board to move forward with plans this year.

Peachfest board members are looking forward to hosting an outstanding event Aug. 3 to 7 in 2022, which will be the 75th anniversary for the festival.

“We have a number of things we have already started to work on as we gear up to celebrate the 75th anniversary, and the board is looking forward to delivering one of the best festivals in our history,” Kendall said.

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