Stephen Vance, Staff
The Kinsmen Club of Meaford has announced that their annual Kin Kamp, held over the Civic holiday weekend at the beginning of August has been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“After much consideration, (and hoping for the best), the Kinsmen Club of Meaford have made the unfortunate but necessary decision to postpone our Kin Kamp for 2020,” Kinsman Tony Weldrick said in an announcement posted on social media and sent to news outlets. “We were all hoping that we could still have some sort of modified Kamp for this year, but due to lack of coverage from the insurance underwriter, and the unstable situation with the COVID-19 virus, we feel that it would be irresponsible to bring people together from all over southern Ontario, for what would be perceived as a ‘celebration’ weekend.”
Beginning in 1961, the annual Kin Kamp has been a well-attended event at Memorial Park for nearly 60 years, drawing Kinsmen and their families from across the province and beyond. Over the years the Kinsmen have been instrumental in turning Memorial Park into the popular campground it is today. The Kinsmen have used the proceeds from the Kin Kamp weekend to fund washrooms, septic tanks, and horseshoe pits, along with a number of park improvements.
With the social distancing restrictions that have been implemented in order to help combat the spread of COVID-19, many events across the province have had to be cancelled.
“Though the Memorial Park campground will be open, the restrictions placed on all campers due to spacing, and socializing between sites, would make it inconvenient to everyone and limit the usual large group events that could be held,” Weldrick noted in the announcement.
Refunds are being offered to those who had been planning to attend.
“The Meaford Kinsmen would like to offer everyone a full refund of their registration money and hope that they will save their money to register early for next year’s Kin Kamp on the Civic Holiday weekend, Friday, July 30 to Monday, August 2, 2021,” said Weldrick. “Our club is very excited to have our 60 +1 Kin Kamp next summer and are starting to make plans for the commemoration of over 60 years of Kin Kamp and 100 years of the Kin Association. We will be posting on our Facebook page updates on our plans for this celebration, and how you can be involved in making it an extra exciting event.”
The Kinsmen also thanked the community for the support shown for the event over the years.
“Thank you to all the businesses in Meaford, and surrounding areas, who have enthusiastically welcomed Kin Kampers to our town, and enjoyed the benefits that these many hundreds of campers bring to our community for the past 60 years,” Weldrick offered. “Thank you to the staff of the Meaford Memorial Park for being so helpful to us in the past, and we hope that they can fill the Park to the revised capacity for the Civic Holiday weekend this summer, as we respectfully return the use of the campground to them for this year.”
