In an announcement on Tuesday morning, the Annual Beaufort Water Festival committee has decided the upcoming 65th Beaufort Water Festival will be cancelled and rescheduled for July of 2021, due to COVID-19 concerns for the health of the community.
In a release on Tuesday, the Board of Directors said, “our Water Festival crew has spent many months planning the 65th Annual Beaufort Water Festival for this July. Paramount to our planning has been the current status of COVID-19 and the health precautions needed to maintain a safe environment.
Our organization has three driving factors: the community, partnerships, and
volunteers. The relationships among these elements are what makes the
Beaufort Water Festival a leading, time-honored tradition throughout the
southeast.
Considering the recommendations from the Center of Disease Control and
health care professionals and, ultimately, the safety and health of us all, we feel
it is necessary to postpone the 65th Annual Beaufort Water Festival and all
associated sports and water & air events until July 2021. This decision was not
made easily and is driven by the utmost concern for our community, partners,
and dedicated staff of volunteers.
We thank you for your understanding and we are confident that if we all work
together and support each other, our community will return to normalcy
stronger than ever.
The 65th annual event will take place next July, with the current commodore, Erin Morris, resuming his duties next year.