2020 Hay Days Cancelled Due to Covid-19

The Sno Barons snowmobile club did its best to proceed with the hugely popular outdoor snowmobile show this year, despite difficulties associated with Covid-19. As recently as a month ago, the organizers had announced their plan to push forward with the event.

In the end, the logistical requirements of providing for thousands of people from across the entire United States to gather safely were deemed insurmountable by the organizers.

The question of whether or not Canadians would have been allowed to cross the Canada/USA border to attend the event in Minnesota remains unanswered.

For many, it felt inevitable that the 2020 Hay Days event would ultimately be cancelled this year due to the pandemic. The official postponement of the 54th running of Hay Days is surely a sad outcome for everyone involved including organizers, vendors, racers and attendees.

The greater concern, of course, is the still rising rate of Covid-19 related illness in the United States, at a time when many developed countries have stabilized or reduced the rate of confirmed infections.

See the announcement from the Sno Barons club below.

– MS

A month ago, we communicated a decision to proceed with planning for the upcoming Hay Days with the expectation that the COVID-19 infection rate would continue to decline and that we could establish a workable preparedness plan that would keep our guests safe.   At the same time, we set a goal of preserving as much of the Hay Days experience as possible.  Unfortunately, given the current reality that COVID cases are on the rise in many areas, we have decided it is in the best interest of everyone involved to postpone Hay Days for the first time in 54 years.

Our decision to postpone was incredibly difficult to make, but ultimately we believe it is the right one. We know there will be many disappointed vendors and fans, and we appreciate the overwhelming support we have received for the initial decision to move ahead with the event.  We understand the importance of Hay Days to the powersports community and feel a deep responsibility to our vendors and fans to host the annual event.  However, keeping in mind that attendees historically travel to Hay Days from over 30 states and several Canadian provinces, we must look at the bigger picture with respect to the risks involved.  It would not be practical to implement a mitigation plan utilizing current guidelines without severely impacting both the vendor and spectator experience.

The planning and preparation already done for Hay Days 2020 will carry forward to 2021.  As a thank you to our loyal fans, we are planning online giveaways and other engagement opportunities to mark the “Official Start of Winter” in the tradition of Hay Days.  Please watch haydays.com, follow us on Facebook, or join our mailing list to get the latest information.

We hope you will join us in looking forward to next year’s Hay Days, when the “Official Start of Winter” moves to September 11-12, 2021.

Sno Barons Snowmobile Club