More local festivals and other special events will be canceled or postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
State College Borough Council voted unanimously on Monday night to rescind special activity permits through the end of June, impacting seven events that were scheduled to take place on borough property between May 11-June 30.
‘It’s with a heavy heart, I think, that all of us support this,’ councilman Evan Myers said during Monday’s meeting, which was held via online video conference. ‘We feel, as we’ve discussed before, that there is not much choice. This means a lot of festivals, a lot of activities our community has planned will have to be postponed, canceled, put on hold perhaps even until next year… It’s not an easy thing for any of us to do.’
Events that had permits rescinded include Downtown State College Improvement District’s June First Friday; the Penn State Marines Association 5k on May 16; Jana Marie Foundation’s J.A.M. Fest on May 16; the first State College Pride Parade and Festival on June 13; and Happy Valley Music Festival on June 19-20.
Two others during that time frame already announced they would not take place.
Organizers of Summers on Allen announced on April 2 that the temporary pedestrian plaza on the 100 block of South Allen Street planned for May 11-July 3 would not take place this year and that they would aim to hold the event in 2021.
Centre Foundation also indicated earlier this month that it would not hold in-person events for Centre Gives, the 36-hour online giving event to support local nonprofits. The fundraiser will still, however, take place online May 12-13, with several changes designed to increase giving to nonprofits during this challenging time.
‘Events that are scheduled to occur after June 30 will be monitored and reviewed on an ongoing basis to determine if those events should also be canceled,’ Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said. ‘Events that are scheduled after June 30, 2020, will be notified that those events may also be canceled depending on the status of the pandemic.’
At its last meeting on March 16, State College Borough rescinded permits for special events through May 10 — canceling five events that were scheduled to take place — with organizers of future events put on notice that further cancelations also were under consideration. Fountaine also said at that time that other special activity permit applications that had been presented to the borough and were in review would be withheld from the approval process until further notice.
On Friday, organizers of four major summer festivals in Centre County — Central PA 4th Fest and Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in State College, People’s Choice Festival in Boalsburg and Philipsburg Heritage Days — jointly announced that each would be canceled this year for the first time in their respective histories. Those festivals are planning virtual events, with more details to come.
Bellefonte Cruise organizers announced Monday that the annual event scheduled for June has been canceled, with the possibility of holding it later this year. Bellefonte Mayor Tom Wilson said at Monday night’s borough council meeting that Bellefonte Cruise organizers are now hoping to hold it at the end of September in conjunction with the Milesburg Car, Truck and Bike Show.
Bellefonte Borough Council also received a letter at its meeting on Monday night stating that the 71st annual Bellefonte Children’s Fair, scheduled for June 6, has been canceled.
