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Stay-at-home order delays start of popular Orillia Perch Festival

'We are happy that the participants are still wanting to come out and do it,' says organizer of one of Canada's largest fishing derbies
2018-05-01 Orillia Perch Festival
Tim McAuley shows off two of the perch he and Ken Smith caught in the 2018 Orillia Perch Festival. Nathan Taylor/OrilliaMatters FIle Photo

The 40th anniversary of the Orillia Perch Festival, organized by the Orillia District Chamber of Commerce, has been postponed due to the province's 28-day stay-at-home order.

The perch festival was originally set for April 17 to May 15 and it has since been rescheduled for May. 8 to May. 29.

Event organizer Doug Bunker says it was an easy decision to push the start of the popular festival back four weeks, despite fishing being a sport that can be participated in safely during the pandemic.

“The Orillia Perch Festival has a huge footprint, and it takes part in a large geographical area which we use for social distancing. However, we are following the guidelines to keep people safe, and this delay goes hand in hand with the provincial order,” Bunker said.

“We would think fishing is something people can do safely right now, but the chamber's stance has been to follow provincial orders.”

Event organizers have been working hard for months to make this year’s perch festival as safe as possible. Anglers are responsible for their own live release this year, and the festival will run using a virtual platform via a cellphone application.

“We have it as a virtual event this year to be safe, and we want to continue those aspects, so delaying it to May 8 is one of the ways we can do it,” Bunker said.

“We don’t want people shoulder to shoulder fishing. We want it to still be a sport people can enjoy, and there are just a couple of changes this year that are in place for social distancing."

This year’s festival has also been extended beyond lakes Couchiching and Simcoe to all of Simcoe County.

“Perch can be found in a lot of the lakes around here, so we are spreading it out and giving anglers the opportunity to keep their distance,” Bunker said.   

While the delay to the annual festival isn’t ideal, Bunker believes it might help registration and participation numbers later on.

“I think delaying it for four weeks will help get more information out to people about where they can fish and how - that’s the win part of this delay,” he said.

“This delay has also taken our early bird draw and moved it to May 2, so there are a lot more chances for people to get into that draw which is worth $300 for an adult and $200 for a kid to go shopping for Berkley product at Trombly’s Tackle Box.”

To this point registration for this year's festival is “level” to previous years Bunker says.

“People like the event because it’s something they can do with their families, but it’s also a virtual way of getting things done and getting people fishing still, so we are pretty happy with the guys who have helped us put this event together, and we are happy that the participants are still wanting to come out and do it,” he said.

“You can still fish, you can still win prizes, but at a social distance.”

Bunker believes this year’s perch festival holds a certain importance that makes the event unique from years past.

“Right now, people are screaming to get out because there is a real stress factor in staying home and not doing things. So if there is anything to get out there and maybe keep you distanced, I think fishing is it,” he said.

“I personally have been ready since January for this festival. I get lots of guys sending me pictures showing me that the perch population is stronger than ever, everyone is excited to get going," he said.


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Tyler Evans

About the Author: Tyler Evans

Tyler Evans got his start in the news business when he was just 15-years-old and now serves as a video producer and reporter with OrilliaMatters
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