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Morden festival cancellation due to COVID-19, first time in 54 years

There will be fewer servings of corn in Morden this summer. Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

The Morden Corn & Apple Festival is the latest Manitoba event to announce it’s pulling the plug for 2020 due to coronavirus concerns.

This year’s festival was to occur August 28-30, and would have been the 54th in its history.

“Cancelling the Morden Corn & Apple Festival is unfortunate, but ultimately with no ability to guarantee the health and safety of the visitors, vendors, volunteers, and residents of Morden, the decision was obvious,” said Executive Director Tim Hodge in a news release.

Organizers point out this is the first time the event has been cancelled since its inception in 1967.

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That being said, festival chairperson Nathan Knight says the curtain hasn’t completely dropped on this year’s plans.

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“Although we won’t be hosting the festival this summer, we’re looking at other options to produce content and bring people together digitally, from the comfort of their homes,” Knight said in a press release.

Knight says the plan is to create virtual festival content that people can access online, which could include livestreamed concerts.

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The group says some 80,000 people attend the event in downtown Morden each year.

The festival is known for giving out free corn on the cob and apple juice, live concerts and events, car shows, street performers and artists, craft sales, and its parade.

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