GRANTS PASS, Ore. Boatnik was canceled last year due to complications during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Now, this year’s Boatnik is seeing a similar fate. But organizers are being vague about why.
Since 1959, the Grants Pass Active Club has brought together thousands of people on Memorial Day weekend. But this year, for the second year in a row, Boatnik isn’t happening.
The organizers of the festival issued a statement Friday, announcing the decision to cancel.
It reads in part “As large and complex as our event is, we require permits to run components of Boatnik. We were not granted those permits this year, meaning no carnival, vendors, or parade due to the state’s COVID-19 outdoor gathering restrictions.”