Meadowlark Festival falls to COVID-19

Another popular Okanagan event has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Meadowlark Nature Festival was originally scheduled to take place May 14 to 18 this year but with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers made plans in late March to postpone it until fall.

Earlier this week, festival coordinator Jayme Friedt says the committee decided to cancel the event entirely for the 2020 season.

She cited financial considerations and an overlap of festival events with ongoing fall events.

“We just thought it wasn’t feasible to do it in the fall. We were pretty certain we would have decreased attendance from visitors, and we rely on out of town participants for 30 per cent of our revenue,” Friedt says.

“It’s a real shame, for sure. The festival is quite a legacy in the Okanagan, we’re lucky to have it. Many people have expressed to me how disappointed they are it has been cancelled,” she says.

This would have been the 23rd annual Meadowlark Festival.

The event has become well known amongst a wide cross section of people for its programs, day trips and multi-disciplinary events that connect people with nature in the South Okanagan.

Next year’s festival is slated for May 20 to 24.

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