Old Home Week no sure bet this summer

Officials with Old Home Week on P.E.I. are unsure whether the event will go ahead as usual this year.

The annual fair and agricultural exhibition is held every summer and is planned this year for Aug. 14-22.

Sandra Hodder Acorn, general manager of Old Home Week, said she is waiting to see what happens over the coming months.

"Right now, we're kind of in a holding pattern," she said.

"Old Home Week has a lot of different moving parts. So, when you're talking about an event like Old Home Week, you're talking about 4-H [as] a huge component. The women's institute is a huge component as well as the harness racing, just to name a few. So, it's kind of a trickle-down effect."

Hodder Acorn said safety is most important and the festival will follow the direction it receives from the province.

The province has said it will begin to ease COVID-19 restrictions next month, but a ban on large gatherings will not be among the first restrictions lifted. Old Home Week draws thousands of people from the Island and elsewhere.

Officials with the P.E.I. Association of Exhibitions say they plan to meet with Department of Agricultural officials later this month to discuss Old Home Week and other events.

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