This year's Cessnock Stomp Festival has officially been cancelled, and will return in 2021.
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The festival was originally set down for April 5, 2020, but was postponed just three weeks out when outdoor gatherings of 500-plus people were banned under Australia's first round of COVID-19 restrictions.
Sustainable Cessnock coordinator Anthony Burke said the committee had hoped to hold the Stomp festival later in 2020, but has conceded that it won't be possible in the current climate.
"We wanted to hold the event this year because our tourism industry has been hit really hard," Mr Burke said.
"We were clutching onto hope that it would go ahead this year, but we definitely don't want to do that at the moment."
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Mr Burke said the 2021 festival will most likely be held in April, with a date to be announced later this year.
"We are waiting until the end of 2020 to see how things are progressing with COVID," he said.
"The good thing is, it's all organised - we just need to pick it up and move it to a new date."
An initiative of the Cessnock Chamber of Commerce, the Stomp festival has attracted crowds of up to 17,000 people to town in previous years.
The chamber's other major annual event - the Cessnock Customer Service Awards - will proceed this year in an online format, with more details to be announced soon.
Meanwhile, anti-domestic violence event Cessnock Walks Kawuma will also be held online this year.
About 600 people took part in last year's inaugural event, which included a walk along Vincent Street to the TAFE grounds.
This year's event will be held on November 25, which is the International Day for the Eradication of Violence against Women. Stay tuned for more details.
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