While it's still more than three months away, officials with Prince Edward Island's Old Home Week cannot say for sure if the popular fair and agricultural exhibition will take place this summer.
Earlier this week, officials with the Calgary Stampede announced that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the first cancellation of that event in more than 100 years. The Calgary Stampede is traditionally held at the start of July. PEI's Old Home Week is slated for August 14-22.
Sandra Hodder Acorn, the General Manager of Old Home Week, told CBC News that officials are monitoring the current pandemic situation.
"Right now, we're kind of in a holding pattern," said Hodder Acorn. "Old Home Week has a lot of different moving parts. So, when you're talking about an event like Old Home Week, you're talking about 4-H [as] a huge component. The women's institute is a huge component as well as the harness racing, just to name a few. So, it's kind of a trickle-down effect."
During Old Home Week, Red Shores Racetrack & Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park typically hosts a stakes-packed week of harness racing that culminates with the Gold Cup & Saucer on the final Saturday.
According to CBC News, the province of PEI has stated that it will begin to ease COVID-19 restrictions next month but the current ban on large public gatherings is not part of that first phase.
Another PEI tradition which
Another PEI tradition which is even more in jeopardy than Old Home Week, since it takes place over a month earlier, is The Lobster Carnival, in Summerside, from July 9-11. The culminating event of the festival is The Governor's Plate, on the Saturday night.