Organizers of the Summerland Action Festival do not yet know if the annual event will proceed in early June of this year.
The festival has been a mainstay of the community since 1982 and draws thousands of people to Summerland for a weekend of sports, live entertainment, a parade and other events.
In 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers cancelled the festival for the first time in its history. For this year, Pat Bell, president of the Summerland Action Festival, said it is not known if the event will be able to proceed.
Under the existing regulations, in-person festivals and gatherings are not allowed. Contact sports and baseball games also may not proceed, he said. Other elements affected are the Action Festival Dance and the beverage gardens.
However, it is not known if the provincial health regulations will be relaxed in time for the spring festival.
“Is there a possibility? Always. But it’s going to be a very different event if we can do it at all,” Bell said.
Organizers are waiting until the end of March to decide on whether to proceed with festival plans. Bell said organizers would need at least two months to make the preparations if the event can go ahead.
