DARIUS SHAHHEYDARI
PONTIAC April 22, 2020
The Shawville Lions Country Jamboree has been cancelled this year due to the continuing implementation of restrictive measures set out to combat the spread of COVID-19.
On April 10 , the Quebec government demanded all sporting and cultural events to be cancelled until August 31, meaning the Country Jamboree, which was scheduled to take place on the third weekend of July this year, needed to be wiped off the calendar.
Chairman of the Country Jamboree, Edward Walsh, said the event’s sponsors, along with those who had purchased tickets in advance, have been refunded.
“It was a heart wrenching decision, but the health and safety of all the attendees, entertainers and our numerous volunteers, is our number one priority,” wrote Walsh in a statement on their website, shawvillecountryjamboree.ca. “We plan to hold the Jamboree again in July 2021, and we hope to see you all there.”
The Jamboree in Shawville, held at Armstrong Heritage Farm, is usually a four day event starting on a Thursday and ending on a Sunday. Thursdays are set aside for open-mic performances and the other three days scheduled for paid entertainers.
This year’s show was supposed to feature Ottawa Valley Country Music Hall of Fame 2019 inductees Dennis Whitty, Buddy McCann and Jeff and Jamie McCunn.
“We had 20 entertainers from all around the valley that were hired. We try to get local people but we also have people from the Ontario side, as well, so there’s a mixture,” said Walsh.
In addition, several other events were taken off the community calendar recently, including Oktoberfest in Ladysmith, whose board announced on Thursday that they would be cancelling this year’s festivities. The event typically draws several thousand people to the village of Ladysmith at the start of October.
Both these announcements come on the heels of the Shawville Fair announcing that they were forced to cancel their iconic event for the first time in more than 160 years.
With files from Caleb Nickerson.
