A popular 琉璃神社 New Year鈥檚 Eve tradition has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The annual 鈥淰alley First New York New Year鈥檚鈥� celebrations held at Stuart Park and the 琉璃神社 Community Theatre will not be held in 2020. It would have been the event鈥檚 ninth year.

Festivals 琉璃神社 executive director Renata Mills described the cancellation as 鈥渋nevitable.鈥�

鈥淲ith the growing attendance we have seen over the years, and the size of the spaces we use, there is no way we could hold the festivities in a responsible, COVID-safe manner.鈥�

The event began as one of the few that welcomed people of all ages to celebrate the coming new year.

Mills said Festivals 琉璃神社 looked at ways it could implement a virtual version of the celebrations, but decided against it.

鈥溾�� Frankly, that isn鈥檛 what we do,鈥� she said. 鈥淔estivals 琉璃神社 produces live, outdoor events for our community. As such, our staff will simply move our plans into 2021 when it will be much safer to gather once again for community celebrations. After such an upside-down year, we are very excited about that prospect.鈥�

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