Barrie, Ontario’s annual Kempenfest celebration has been cancelled for the first time in history due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Festival organizers say they’ve been meeting with municipal, provincial and federal governments to monitor the COVID-19 crisis and have decided to postpone the event until 2021. “It is the right decision to protect the health of the Kempenfest community,” Kempenfest general manager Louise Jackson said in a statement. [ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ] “We want our visitors and participants to know that the show can not go on as planned this year and that safety is our number one priority.” The festival, which was scheduled to take place between July 31 and August 3,