ESCANABA — Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a long-running spring tradition in the area will not be taking place as scheduled this year. The Escanaba Kiwanis Club recently canceled its Home and Garden Show and Pancake Days, which was set to take place at the Ruth Butler Building at the U.P. State Fairgrounds April 3-5.

“We’re sad about the cancellation of a show that’s run over 50 years,” Pat Rudden — the club’s Home and Garden Show chair — said.

According to Rudden, the show was called off earlier this week.

“On March 17, our Home and Garden Show committee and our board of directors decided to cancel the show,” she said.

At one point, the possibility of setting another date for the event was discussed.

“Our first plan was to reschedule for the weekend of May 10,” Rudden said.

Due to the possibility of Michigan’s restrictions on public gatherings being extended, however, Rudden said the committee and board ultimately chose to cancel 2020’s Home and Garden Show entirely.

“Our vendors have told us that June is too late to have a show, because they’re all very busy,” she said.

So far, Rudden said email responses from vendors regarding the cancellation have been very understanding.

“They totally agree with our decision, want to keep supporting us, and a couple of (vendors) have even made donations of their rental money to our club,” she said.

The club also reached out to the fairgrounds regarding its decision.

“They were very supportive of us — they aren’t charging us any penalty for that cancellation, and they’ve also scheduled our dates for next year,” Rudden said.

She noted Delta County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Vickie Micheau has been looking for another fundraising opportunity for the Escanaba Kiwanis Club, as well.

Each year, Rudden said “thousands” of pancakes are prepared and served at the Home and Garden Show. Fortunately, supplies such as pancake mix, sausages and eggs had not been ordered before the event was canceled.

“The supplies we ordered were very minimal, and they’re nonperishable,” she said.

For updates on the cancellation of the Home and Garden Show and Pancake Days, as well as more information on the Escanaba Kiwanis Club, visit escanabakiwanis.org.