The next Flin Flon Trout Festival is looking uncertain for this summer, with organizers weighing different options for the event after COVID-19 came to Canada.
This year’s edition of the Trout Festival would be the 70th anniversary of the first-ever event, held in 1950. Decisions on programming and events will be made at the end of April.
Organizers had big plans for this year’s festival but no matter how the outbreak is handled in the coming months, those plans will almost certainly be drawn back.
“We’re going to wait until the end of April and make a decision. Right now, it’s looking like whatever we do, it’ll be a muted one and held maybe a little later in the summer,” said event vice-president Sheena Reed.
“The final decision will be at the end of April, when we have hopefully a better handle on what's going on. I think at this time, we're looking at social distancing.”
When asked what a muted Trout Festival could look like, Reed offhandedly mentioned alterations to some traditional programming to fit now-current health guidelines. No definitive decisions have been made about programming.
“We’re thinking maybe something like even a parade or something where people can stand five feet apart on the sidelines,” she said.
“Maybe when things are loosening up in the summer, then we can have some sort of celebration.”
