The Annual Beaver County Maple Syrup Festival has been canceled for 2020 over concerns about the novel coronavirus.
Festival chair Regis Collins notified the public of the decision in a statement issued today by event sponsor PUSH Beaver County.
“Due to significant concerns of Public Health, the Board has determined that we shall cancel this year’s event,” he said. “Therefore, the 43rd Annual Beaver County Maple Syrup Festival scheduled for April fourth and fifth has been canceled.”
County Commissioner Chairman Dan Camp said he was disappointed to see the event being canceled, but that he agreed it was the right thing to do.
“Unfortunately PUSH Beaver County had to make a tough decision in canceling it,” Camp said. “I look forward to assisting them bring it back to the county in 2021.”
Collins’ statement continued, “This decision was made given the increased presence of the coronavirus in eastern Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio as well as the unknown impact it may or may not have on Western Pennsylvania. Though members of PUSH Beaver County were looking forward to co-hosting this year’s event with the Beaver County Conservation District, we shall begin plans for next year’s event. Thanks for all your support in our plans and we anticipate lots of new opportunities to introduce to next year’s Maple Syrup Festival.”
Commissioner Jack Manning told BeaverCountian.com he has been volunteering at the event for almost a decade now, and like Camp, hated to see the event canceled but agreed it was a prudent decision.
“The board spoke with (PUSH Beaver County) and expressed our concerns about having thousands of people coming from 3 different states into the same spot in Beaver County,” Manning said. “Dan Camp, Tony Amadio, and I were all in agreement on this.”
Manning said the Maple Syrup Festival is something he has looked forward to for many years.
“(My wife) Diane and I have volunteered at least one day at the event for the past decade, so this would have been our 10th straight year,” Manning said.
“It’s just an iconic event for Beaver County and we are going to miss it this year. Not having it just exacerbates all of the consternation that is coming along with the coronavirus. It’s a little unsettling. A lot of times when these things happen we turn to sports to take our minds off of it, and last night when I sat down I had nothing to turn to on TV for respite because they’re all canceled too.”
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