Gaithersburg Oktoberfest Canceled Over COVID-19 Concerns

The Gaithersburg Oktoberfest, which was scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10, will not be taking place this year due to COVID-19 concerns.

In a statement, Carolyn Muller, Director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture for Gaithersburg said: “With the Delta variant still pervasive in our community, we felt it was prudent to cancel the event for this year. The event takes place in a very large geographic area, and it historically attracts crowds of 20,000+. There is no practical way to control entry points and crowd size, and we do not want to scale the event back to a level that would be disappointing for guests, entertainers, and vendors.”

Smaller events take place instead of the larger celebration. The city is planning outdoor movies, concerts, and other outdoor fall activities that allow for social distancing.

As of Oct. 5, Montgomery County had a 1.9% weekly positivity rate with 77.1 cases out of 100,000 in the past seven days. The level of community transmission is still “substantial,” according to the Montgomery County Data Dashboard. Also, just over 67% of all residents in Montgomery County have gotten both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the dashboard.

About Margaret Attridge

Margaret Attridge is a Fall 2021 Intern with MyMCM from the University of Maryland, College Park. Contact her at mattridge@mymcmedia.com.

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