Olympia Kiwanis announce cancellation of 2020 Harbor Days festival and tugboat races

In a year when nothing is as it’s always been, Olympians will have to end the summer without the Olympia Harbor Days festival and tugboat races.

The Olympia Kiwanis Club board of directors announced Friday that the 47th edition of the Labor Day festival was being canceled because of concerns over how to keep the festival safe for all – from attendees and tugboat crews to vendors and volunteers — during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The festival was to be held Sept. 4-6 at Percival Landing.

“We want to keep our community, participants and volunteers safe during this unprecedented and unpredictable coronavirus pandemic. The risk of hosting a free public event of this type is too great from all we know today,” Denise Steigers, president of the Olympia Kiwanis, said in a news release.

Carol Riley, executive director of Olympia Harbor Days, said, “It was a difficult decision to cancel this year and I believe this is the right step to take at this time. We hope to return in 2021 with a joyous celebration.”

More information about the festival can be found at www.HarborDays.com.