AFTER much deliberation following the easing of some restrictions, the committee behind a favourite Leeton event has come to the conclusion it won't be given the green light in 2020.
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Leeton's Chill and Grill event had been planned for October, but due to ongoing restrictions and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, it won't be happening this year.
"We have recently decided that Chill and Grill will not be held this year, but that's not to say it's cancelled," Leeton Shire Council's events officer Hannah Fitzsimon said.
"We're hoping we might be in a better position to plan the event for early next year.
"We believe we still face too much uncertainty at the moment and want to do our part to keep our community safe."
The chill and grill has been up and running for about four years in Leeton.
Last year's event was almost cancelled due to severe wind and storms, but at the last minute some vendors were able to sell their pre-prepared cuisines and meals at the Wade Hotel.
While this wasn't the event that had been planned, organisers had hoped to make the 2020 food fiesta bigger and bigger, but as has been the case for most gatherings, the COVID-19 pandemic had other ideas.
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"It's definitely been difficult having to cancel some of our key events like the SunRice Festival and the Australian Art Deco Festival, but we've been quite productive with the downtime," Miss Fitzsimon said.
"We've been able to sit down and really look how council are supporting local events and how we can further enhance these events that the community love.
"We've also been developing some resources to assist the community with planning their own events, so they don't have to immediately look to council for expertise.
"We're unsure how the future of events is even going to look past all this, so we just have to learn to adapt to this new way of living and take each day as it comes."
Council remains in discussions on how Chill and Grill will look moving forward.
The events team will be presenting back to its senior management team in around a month so more will be known after that.