After initially being canceled, Silver Creek’s Festival of Grapes will now happen this fall, but with limitations.

“The Festival of Grapes has re-evaluated the recent changes in the COVID-19 restrictions,” according to a press release from festival organizers. “In light of these changes, and with the combined cooperation of the Festival of Grapes Board, our current wine and beer vendor, Merritt Winery, and the village of Silver Creek, we are pleased to inform the public that the Festival of Grapes in 2021 will happen. This event will be a limited edition for this year only!”

The 2021 edition of the festival will take place Friday, Sept. 24, Saturday, Sept. 25 and Sunday, Sept. 26. Next year, the Festival of Grapes will return to the third weekend in September.

Lisa Romano, president of the festival committee, said they are basically calling off indoor gatherings and other events that draw a high density of people. “We want people to feel comfortable,” she said. “We wanted to curtail anything that included touching.”

Food and drink vendors, carriage rides and band performances will still happen. However, the pentathlon, the wine and dessert competition and the baby contest are all off. The parade is cancelled, too, “because people line up four or five deep, shoulder to shoulder,” Romano said.

In addition, the grape stomping event is on hold while the festival committee works out protocols for event workers. Romano said a decision on that is coming next week, and suggested that people who want updates on this year’s events check the festival’s Facebook page.

“All these things will come back next year,” she promised.

The organizing committee initially canceled the 2021 festival in May, when it was still not clear that downward trends in COVID-19 infections would hold up long enough to allow summertime gatherings. Stephanie Teachman, festival secretary, said in a statement at the time that the organizers had no way of enforcing social distancing or mask requirements, due to lack of funding, resources and staffing.

The 2020 festival was canceled completely over pandemic concerns.

This year, “we will have a limited event due to time constraints as well as regulations in place that involve some of our other events that take place during the weekend,” according to the festival’s press release. “The traditional events everyone has come to love as part of our annual celebration will return in 2022!

“Although this year’s event will look somewhat different that we have all seen in past years, our limited events will not dampen our spirits and will only bolster us toward next year’s Festival. The Festival of Grapes looks forward to bringing this piece of normalcy back to the community and to our everyday lives,” the release concludes.