A giant, inflatible garlic clove greets attendees of Garlic Fest on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019.
The in-person version of the Washington State Garlic Fest in Chehalis has been canceled for 2020, according to a press release from Lewis County.
The event had been scheduled for Aug. 28-30.
Public safety, mandated government protocols for large gatherings, ability to obtain permits and loss of attendance and revenue were all listed as reasons for the cancelation.
“While we are deeply saddened to cancel the in-person event this year, we are working on efforts to help our annual vendors use online tools to highlight and market each one of them, should they be interested,” said Washington State Garlic Fest Coordinator Fiona Velazquez. “There are some wonderful online tools to help our garlic growers and vendors with online sales. Many of attendees come every year to go to specific vendors for products they love. We hope to aide in helping our guests still find and buy their favorite items.”
The 2021 Garlic Fest is scheduled for Aug. 27-29.
The cancelation after the Southwest Washington Fair and most community festivals were already called off for the year due to COVID-19 and government-mandated closures aimed at slowing the spread of the virus.
