One of Walnutport’s most enduring family-friendly events has been shelved due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 40th annual Canal Festival has been canceled due to COVID-19, according to Jeanne Boehrer, president of the Walnutport Canal Association.

Boehrer said the association deliberated on the event, which benefits the association and would have been held Oct. 18, soon after the pandemic was declared back in the spring.

“In May, we kind of talked about it, people were a little leery of would we be able to have it, would people show up, with people not working, would they be able to afford the event,” Boehrer said. “There were so many unknowns.”

Over time, Boehrer said the association saw more and more events that were being canceled, and ultimately decided not to hold this year’s event out of concern for other people.

“It’s just tough to try and plan something months in advance and you don’t know what your situation’s going to be, so just to err on the side of caution, we decided not to have it,” she said. “It was a difficult decision; we look forward to having it and having people come to our event; being the 40th year, we would of course have loved for it to be bigger and better and more well-attended, and we just couldn’t guarantee that would happen.”

Boehrer noted the festival isn’t something that can be planned in a few short weeks, but rather, it involves months of planning.

“It’s a big community event, and we just couldn’t plan it the way we wanted it to be, and it’s a shame,” she said. “We wanted extra things and special things, and it just wasn’t going to happen this year, so we’ll come back bigger and better next year.”

The canal festival is a community event that generally features churches, Boy Scouts, community center, fire company, local history, and between 30-40 crafters each year.

Moving forward, Boehrer said a decision had been reached last year to no longer hold the Annual Towpath Trot 6K Run, Walk & Kids Fun Run that was always held the third Saturday in October.

“There were so many other races (that weekend) that were well attended,” she said, adding that it was hard to compete with the other events. “It was a nice community event; that was a hard decision.”

What’s worse, the canal festival and towpath trot events aren’t the association’s only ones that had to take a back seat this year due to the pandemic.

Boehrer said the association had to cancel its canal cleanup and spring breakfast as well.

“Those are our major fundraisers,” she said. “We do have a membership drive, and our community does support us in that way, which we are totally thankful for.”

The membership drive notwithstanding, Boehrer said the cancellation of this year’s canal festival and other activities will certainly be a huge blow.

“But the canal festival is our major fundraiser; it carries us over the winter when we really don’t have any events going on,” she said. “So, that is a financial hit to us of course, and to the groups that come to us each year; they’re set for putting us on their calendar year after year, (and) it’s a hit to them as well.”

Despite the impact, Boehrer remains upbeat that next year’s edition will be a must-see attraction.

“It’s difficult not to have the fundraisers, but we’re thankful for what we have,” she said. “We will see you next year, fingers crossed, and God willing.”