KITCHENER -- An annual tradition in Stratford, that often draws a big crowd, has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city announced via Twitter on Tuesday morning that the Swan Parade has been called off for 2021.
"Just to avoid crowds," said Quin Malott, forest and cemetery manager with the City of Stratford. "We can't control how many people can be at a public park at any given time. So, if the streets become gathered with people watching the swans, it's pretty hard to distance properly."
The event features the marching of swans from their winter quarters to Lake Victoria and the Avon River and often draws plenty of onlookers.
Two of the swans, Otis and Ophelia, will return to Kitchener's Victoria Park on Wednesday. The other 23 birds will have staff quietly move them along again.
"We are going to release the swans at an undisclosed time on an undisclosed date," Malott said. "We thought of doing a virtual, like a live virtual, but everyone would know what time they're going out, so it would kind of defeat the purpose."
Officials hope the parade will return in 2022.
