A popular Kelowna New Yearsa国际传媒檚 Eve tradition has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The annual sa国际传媒淰alley First New York New Yearsa国际传媒檚sa国际传媒� celebrations held at Stuart Park and the Kelowna Community Theatre will not be held in 2020. It would have been the eventsa国际传媒檚 ninth year.

Festivals Kelowna executive director Renata Mills described the cancellation as sa国际传媒渋nevitable.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淲ith the growing attendance we have seen over the years, and the size of the spaces we use, there is no way we could hold the festivities in a responsible, COVID-safe manner.sa国际传媒�

The event began as one of the few that welcomed people of all ages to celebrate the coming new year.

Mills said Festivals Kelowna looked at ways it could implement a virtual version of the celebrations, but decided against it.

sa国际传媒渟a国际传媒� Frankly, that isnsa国际传媒檛 what we do,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淔estivals Kelowna produces live, outdoor events for our community. As such, our staff will simply move our plans into 2021 when it will be much safer to gather once again for community celebrations. After such an upside-down year, we are very excited about that prospect.sa国际传媒�

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