Port Hope is cancelling or postponing all large-scale events and activities scheduled to take place in the municipality before August 31st.
This includes the Port Hope Canada Day celebration on July 1st, the Port Hope Arts Festival on August 8th, and the Movies in the Park series — four outdoor movie nights in Memorial Park in June, July, and August.
“News of the cancellation of our much-loved summer events and celebrations is most certainly disappointing, as we continue to come to grips with all of the changes to our daily lives as result of this pandemic,” says Port Hope mayor Bob Sanderson.
“While we are hopeful that we will be able to phase in some of our regular activities over the next couple of months, our health officials have indicated that large-scale events, gatherings, and celebrations will not be possible. While disheartening, we will continue to do our part to ensure that the health and wellness of our community is maintained.”
For Canada Day, municipal staff members are planning and developing initiatives and activities that can take place virtually with physical distancing measures intact. More information about these initiatives will be shared once available at porthope.ca/canada-day.
The municipality is also cancelling and postponing all events, activities, and rentals that are scheduled to take place in municipal facilities and on municipal property before August 31st. Residents can check porthope.ca/calendar for the status of events.
“The logistics behind planning and executing special events and celebrations in the community are extraordinary and we felt that we had to make the call early on to aid event organizers in their planning efforts,” explains parks, recreation and culture manager Jim McCormack. “This is certainly not an ideal situation, but we value our community event partners and so we felt that we had to make this decision so that money, time, and resources are not spent planning for events that more than likely can not take place here this summer.”
The municipality says that, if the Ontario government lifts emergency orders and restrictions on group gatherings, some events may be hosted.
Port Hope is continuing to plan its summer camp programs, but registration will only open if the Ontario government lifts emergency orders and restrictions on group gatherings.
Fall events, including the popular Cultivate Festival at Memorial Park in late September, have not yet been cancelled. The municipality will make decisions about these events in mid-summer.
