The annual Kiwanis Music Festival will be postponed until May as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The festival’s board made the decision after an emergency meeting Friday night.
The festival will now run from May 2 to 30. This may change as the situation created by the pandemic may alter plans, festival executive director Kim Chadsey said in the media statement.
The move to May “buys the Festival time in the event any of these closures are extended further through April, or escalating measures are taken such as restrictions on travel within Canada, in the hopes that such measures will no longer be necessary by May. Rescheduling will be subject to the availability of venues, adjudicators, and volunteers.”
The Ontario Music Festivals Association provincial finals will still, for the time being, be held in Niagara from June 8-13. The deadline to enter has moved to May 20.
The Ottawa festival has cancelled classes for bands, choirs and orchestras says it will not be able to refund registration fees paid to date. Instead the festival will offer a charitable tax receipt for the full amount of any paid fees.
One casualty of the postponement will be the cancellation of the highlights concert.
The festival says the festival may be cancelled outright at if the spread of coronavirus in the community warrants.
