Another annual Jacksonville event has fallen victim to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Jacksonville Cruise Nite Association has announced they have canceled this year’s Cruise Nite event due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Steve Pahlmann, one of the last and only remaining original members of the Cruise Nite Association group says following a meeting Thursday night, the membership felt it was better to be safe than sorry.
“We decided that due to all the cases popping up we just felt that it would be best if we just let it go and try it for next year. It’s a bitter pill to swallow sometimes but, sometimes you’ve gotta take a step back so you can move forward.”
Pahlmann, who is 70 years old, says he is one of the youngest members of the association, and with many members closer to age 80, they felt it would be difficult to have sufficient volunteer help who were not in the higher risk age group of contracting and having complications from the virus.
He says the association knows many in the community will be disappointed in the decision, however the membership feels it’s in the best interest of all involved to hold off, and start planning for next year.
“I just want to tell the people out there that we are sorry that we couldn’t do it this year but, like I say we just figure that we just may as well wait and be on the safe side. We’ll just come back next year and have a good time and do our thing.”
The Jacksonville Cruise Nite event is held every year on the third Saturday of September, and plans are already being discussed for next year’s event, which is set to be held on Saturday, September 18th, 2021.