News from Portland today announcing the cancellation of Kells Irish Festival this year amid concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak:

The McAleese Family –– Gerard, Lucille and Garrett McAleese –– has issued the following statement regarding the Kells Irish Festival:

“Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are complying with new state guidelines affecting large gatherings, and have canceled this year’s Kells Irish Festival. We will not be offering any activities in our Festival Tent –– this includes live music, family day, and The Smoker, which will be postponed until a future date. However, both Kells Irish Pub and Kells Brewery will be open regular hours for business as usual, and both pubs will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with live music and Irish dancers; a new schedule will be posted at KellsIrishFest.com. We will monitor the number of attendees in our pubs at any given time. While we are very disappointed that we are unable to hold our 29th annual event, we know this is the right decision for the health and safety of our guests and the community as a whole.”

Kells made the right call here (also complying with Oregon’s limit on mass gatherings to 250 people in response to the virus), and it’s not a bad idea for other festivals and large events to re-evaluate as well.