A growing, but timeless, Okanagan winter event has been cancelled this year because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
This week, Horse Drawn Okanagan announced that it was suspending its annual December sleigh ride in Armstrong.
Event coordinator Kelly MacIntosh said the fourth annual running was slated to take place next month, but, with B.C. experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases, the event was shelved for 2020.
MacIntosh said sleigh rides are an experience on bringing people together, stating last year’s eight-day event averaged 400 people a day.
”We came to realize changing the central concept would be disappointing for our patrons and would eliminate the fun, social and interactive aspects of the event,” said MacIntosh.
“So after much careful consideration, we have decided to cancel the event this year and come back when it’s safe to do so. We feel this is the responsible thing to do through the currently evolving pandemic conditions.”
Horse Drawn Okanagan says it plans to come back with a bigger and better sleigh ride to make up for lost time this season.
“A lot of businesses have been really creative in offering unique and virtual experiences,” said MacIntosh.
“The concept of our event, however, is to get back basics, come together with the ones you love, outside under the falling snow, around the fire, singing Christmas carols on a horse-drawn sleigh. So for now, we’ll have to wait.”