In a typical year, local families would gather in early autumn on Main Street for Bradford’s annual Pumpkinfest; 2020 has been anything but typical.

The Pumpkinfest Committee announced Monday that they decided to cancel this year’s festivities due to the ongoing pandemic.

“This was a very difficult decision for the Pumpkinfest Committee to make because of how this event has continued to grow, but we all agreed to cancel it completely due to the safety of our community and the large number of children who attend,” said Karen Costello-Pecht, Pumpkinfest Committee chair.

The event had been scheduled for Sept. 26. This would have been the festival’s 11th year, said Costello-Pecht.

She explained that committee members don’t want to contradict the efforts to slow the virus’s spread by holding a large gathering.

“We have been hearing how the schools in the area are working on plans to protect our children in the coming school year by social distancing and smaller gatherings,” she said. “We know that the Pumpkinfest event would draw a large number of children and this would work against the precautionary measures that our schools are taking and we want to support their efforts. As much as we think our community needs this event to bring fun to all, we decided it was best to cancel.”

When asked if there is anything the committee needs right now, Costello-Pecht said, “No, there is nothing we need from the community this year but we do ask the community and the participating vendors to ‘Save the Date’ for next year.”

The committee has secured the date of Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, for next year’s event.

“On behalf of the Pumpkinfest Committee we ask that everyone remain safe and healthy, together we will get through this pandemic,” she said. “We look forward to seeing you next year and we promise this event will be bigger and better than ever before!”