WILTON — There will be no parades, no blueberry bake-off, no chili contest and no fireworks in Wilton this summer.

Those and other activities associated with the annual Wilton Blueberry Festival have been postponed a year. The new dates are Aug. 6 and 7, 2021.

The decision came Wednesday, April 29, the day after Gov. Janet Mills extended the stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus through May 31.

An announcement made on Facebook reads in part, “The thoughtful decision was made due to the COVID-19 restrictions and concur with Gov. Mills staged re-entry through the summer regulating crowd size.

Shannon Chase Smith, who has organized the festival for 30 years said it was a hard decision to make,

“This has been awful,” she said. “I’m involved with seven things that are either canceling or not.

“Now that I know, I’m okay.

“The theme will be the same. I’ve done the work. The (United States Air Force Heritage) band, Recreation, the fireworks will all be coming next year.”

Smith said the board was okay with the decision which was made in the best interest of the community. She has agreed to stay on as chairman until October of 2021.

Susun Terese, who organizes Farmington’s Summer Fest with Andy Shattuck, expects to make a decision regarding that event on June 1.

“There’s a possibility of putting some stuff on,” she said. “It’s so uncertain, we don’t really know.

“It’s hard to make plans. It could turn around or get worse.”

Efforts to reach organizers of Farmington’s 4th of July parade and Strong’s Pierpole Day celebrations were not successful. Additional information will be published as it becomes available.

 

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