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This Year’s Jay Peanut Festival Has Been Canceled Due To COVID-19 Concerns
August 18, 2021
The Jay Peanut Festival has been canceled again this year due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Gabbert family made the announcement Tuesday due to concerns over the coronavirus.
“It makes us sad. This is a bad time in history and we pray that we all come out of this in one piece, and soon. We pray that we can have the Peanut Festival in October 2022,” the family said in statement.
“There is no way that we can limit how many people come; it being an outside show with free admission and parking. We can’t control whether people wear a mask or not, or if they get the COVID-19 shot or not. We do not know of any other way to handle this problem,” they stated.
The annual festival was also canceled last year due to the pandemic.
The Jay Peanut Festival dates back to 1990 when the Gabberts started the event in memory of their daughter, Melissa, a 19-year-old who died earlier that year from cancer.
The Jay Peanut Festival at the Gabbert Farm has been a fall tradition on the Gulf Coast, showcasing the history, agriculture, food and fun of Santa Rosa County. What started as a chance for local kids and farmers to show off their best of the season has become an annual event covering 15 acres and drawing about 70,000 people to the Gabbert farm.
The event included tours of the 1930s Farm Museum, food booths, dozens of arts and crafts vendors, pony rides, games and fun. The Jay Peanut Festival was also a chance to try all varieties of peanuts – boiled, green, fried, candied and more.
NorthEscambia.com file photos.
Comments
4 Responses to “This Year’s Jay Peanut Festival Has Been Canceled Due To COVID-19 Concerns”
Meh.. The state of Florida doesn’t have a helmet law and I still wear one..
It’s called being proactive.
The State of Florida has no restrictions on outdoor events. I really see no reason for canceling the festival other than they just don’t want to put it on.
This is super disappointing and unnecessary. People have the choice to stay home or attend events such as this as well as take personal protective measures as they see fit (masks, vaccines, social distancing, etc). We have been looking forward to this event since you cancelled last years Peanut Festival. This is completely pointless and hurts the community who desperately need to get out and enjoy normal life. Disappointing doesn’t really describe the extent of how I feel about this.
Sorry to here this, but we understand the reason. We love going to the festival. The Gabbert’s are a great family to do this free to the public. We’ll be there next year!