To the Editor:

One day after the 2019 Coplay Community Days event, we were busy planning how to make the 2020 event even better.

Five months ago, the pandemic virus made its presence felt, affecting everyone’s lives and festivals across the entire country. We were faced with making the decision how to move forward.

We regret to announce, due to the pandemic, we have decided to cancel the 2020 Coplay Community Days festival. How could we continue to provide a safe, stress-free, peace-of-mind weekend for the 8,000 to 10,000 people who visit our 1-square-mile community event and our 100-percent volunteer-based team, our vendors, our entertainment, police, security team and sponsors? The answer - we could not.

Plus, with the guidelines set by our state governor and county, we would have had to abide by the 250-person-maximum rule, 6-foot distancing at all times and wearing of masks.

We thank everyone for understanding our decision, which we believe is the right one. We promise to come back even stronger for the 2021 Coplay Community Days festival, which will be held Aug. 27-29, 2021.

God bless you, and remain safe.

Steven Burker and John Schreiner

festival co-chairs