Already delayed once this year, the West Coast Kustoms Cruisin’ Nationals won’t take place in 2020.
The annual car show normally brings thousands of visitors for the event based at the Santa Maria Fairpark on Memorial Day weekend.
Citing public health concerns related to COVID-19, organizers canceled the May event with hopes of holding something in early October.
But they said recently that the ongoing concerns surrounding pandemic led to the complete cancellation.
“This decision was not made lightly,” organizers said. “Every possibility was explored to hold the event on its rescheduled dates of Oct. 2, 3, and 4.”
Organizers had hoped conditions would improve to allow the event to occur this fall, but uncertainty about the pandemic in three months, and existing public health restrictions, forced the decision to drop plans for 2020.
“We strongly feel our number one priority is the safety and well-being of all our participants, vendors, sponsors, guests and our volunteer members. We do not believe we are able to proceed in 2020 out of health and public safety concerns for all involved,” the announcement said.
“Please understand that this decision was extremely difficult. However, due to the uncertainty of these unprecedented times, we feel it is the responsible and best decision for all involved. We are going to greatly miss our Kustoms family this year.”
Planning will now focus on the event returning to Santa Maria on the 2021 Memorial Day weekend, according to organizers.
The car show was the latest of several events canceled by COVID-19, including the Santa Maria Valley Strawberry Festival in April, the Santa Barbara County Fair in July, and the Santa Barbara County Veterans Stand Down in October.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.