Marion’s Chingawassa Days was nixed this past week to ensure public safety amid an outbreak of COVID-19 that has caused a still-rising toll of deaths and hospitalizations statewide.

Clayton Garnica, chairman of Chingawassa Days, said the decision was forced by multiple factors, including the massive planning needed to pull off the event.

“We would like to have the festival in June and be optimistic that this will be gone by June, but it’s hard to take a chance,” he said. “Then in May if we are still fighting it, we would be in panic mode as it got closer.”

Key decisions had to be made now, he said, and the committee didn’t want to proceed and end up stuck with contracts for bands and no event.

Planning for next year’s event usually begins in August, but this year Garnica said they will have four more months to try and make 2021’s event even bigger and better.

“We have more time to get our thinking caps put on,” he said. “We want to make it good and do something great.”

The Chingawassa committee has also discussed putting on an event for the city after social distancing ends as a way to thank the community.

“I would love to do something for the community — not huge,” he said. “Maybe just ‘Hey, we appreciate you,’ and grill burgers. I don’t know, maybe that would be possible he said.”