TOLEDO, Ohio — The German American Festival has officially been canceled for this year due to the coronavirus.
The German American Festival Society voted to cancel the 55th-annual festival that was scheduled for August 27 to August 30 at Oak Shade Grove in Oregon.
The festival will be held from August 26 to August 29 in 2021.
"This decision was held off until the last possible moment and was not arrived at lightly. Our Board of Trustees took the mandates issued by The State of Ohio concerning mass gatherings into consideration. But ultimately it is the welfare and safety of our guests, vendors, entertainers, and volunteers, with respect to COVID-19, that we made this painful decision. With the revised guidelines regarding mass gatherings and social distancing changing daily, the only responsible thing to do was cancel this event for 2020,” said Joe Petersberger, Chairman for the 55th German American Festival.
This is the first time the festival has been canceled since its inception in 1966.
Last year was the German American Festival's biggest year yet.
