For the first time since the war, organisers of the annual Chale Show have announced they are unable to stage this year’s event.
Those behind the major summer show say they find themselves in a position of being unable to host the early August, fun-filled event due to COVID-19.
The event has been postponed until 2021 as a result of the current pandemic.
In an official statement, organisers have said:
“We have taken the difficult decision to postpone the 2020 Chale Show due to the ongoing COVID-19 Crisis.
“Having had multiple discussions with the local authority, Island MP and our suppliers, we felt that under current legislation the event would not be permitted, and that the current timeline for easing of restrictions was too uncertain to continue.
“We had looked at staging the show in a different format, potentially at a smaller scale, whilst still trying to accommodate certain aspects of the show, but in the end we decided that changing the event in such fundamental ways would leave the volunteers and visitors with a disappointing end result not befitting the ‘Chale Show’ name.
“The Show is run entirely by volunteers, many of whom are older, and we have a duty to ensure their safety is not compromised. We are not covered by any sort of grant or subsidy and therefore it would not be reasonable to risk charity reserves on staging an event in these difficult times”.
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The 94th Chale Show will take place on 31st July & 1st August 2021.
Entirely understandablye but nevertheless sad news, always a good day out
A giant ‘pause’ button has been pushed for the Island, and indeed much of the world.
Think Fast forward is a long way off, slow motion for months if not years at best imo.
Apart from the beer tent and music, I am not a fan of such eventssgatherings, as looking at someone’s marrow to see if it is larger than someone else’s or eating home made cakes, where one is never certain if the topping is desicatted coconut, or some elderly bakers flaking skin adorning the tops is, to me, not entertainment enough and I get bored.
But many enjoy such, and it is a good, decent, happy event and will be sadly missed by many as will what would have been for many, myself included, the Festival this weekend. To some I know it is just stood in muddy field, hearing a horrid noise, but I love it. We are all different.
So whatever we like, for once, we ‘are’ all in this together.
Lets hope that by ‘next’ year, or in a couple of years such are all back on, but no bets on that even.
Although removed from the above press release, the Chale Show organisers would like to add: “Although not the same, we plan to hold some online competitions and we will be busy on our social media pages with some exclusive content, so give us a like and follow on Facebook and Instagram!”