NJ Scandinavian Fest Canceled Due To COVID-19

Budd Lake, NJ— New Jersey’s Scandinavian Festival has been canceled due to concerns surrounding COVID-19. This is the first time in ScanFest’s 36-year history that the event will not occur.

The vote, which took place last weekend during a ScanFest board meeting, was almost unanimous to cancel for this year and to let the current vendors know sooner rather than later. The event was to take place in early September.

ScanFest is held annually at Vasa Park in Budd Lake, NJ, which is owned by the New Jersey Chapter of the National Vasa Order of America.

The event, which started in 1985 as a picnic among local Swedish clubs, has taken place every year rain or shine. Since its inception it has grown into an independent, non-profit, educational corporation in New Jersey, which serves to celebrate the cultures and histories of the Scandinavian countries. The event has Nordic food, entertainment, crafts, and vendors for all ages.

Carl Anderson, who serves on the ScanFest committee as secretary and head of advertising and promotion for the event, believes that canceling is the safest option. “We don’t know what’s going to happen in New Jersey in 6 weeks. If we knew, we might be able to accommodate the requirements, but if they are going to limit us to an assembly of 500 people, we can’t afford to do that,” Anderson says.

ScanFest is self-supporting and relies on the admissions people pay at the gate. With the current restrictions in place, holding the event would not be financially feasible. “With the current restrictions, 300 people would just be filled up with the entertainers, vendors, and staff alone,” says Anderson.

“Suppose we could take as many people that wanted to come, we still don’t know what we would have to implement in terms of sanitation and distancing.”

Despite having to cancel this year, the ScanFest committee is optimistic for future events. “We’re very optimistic for next year’s event. In fact, we’re going to send out a notification to all of our mailing list that we are on for next year if they would like to participate.”

Mark your calendars for next year’s ScanFest, which will take place on Sunday, September 5, 2021. For more information on ScanFest, visit www.ScanFest.org .