KALISPELL — A popular outdoor event in Kalispell is shutting down for the summer due to COVID-19 concerns.
ThursdayFests, put on by the Kalispell Downtown Association has canceled all upcoming events for the remainder of their summer schedule.
The outdoor gathering which meets Thursday evenings in downtown Kalispell features live music, food vendors, and a beer garden.
Kalispell Downtown Association Executive Director Pam Carbonari says the outdoor gathering attracts up to 500 people on a weekly basis.
She says shutting the event down for the summer felt like the responsible thing to do, helping limit the spread of COVID-19, keeping downtown Kalispell businesses open.
“Our greatest responsibility is to our downtown businesses, and we want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can also so that the virus doesn’t continue to increase in our community and end up with the businesses closing, that would be the worst outcome that could happen,” said Carbonari.
Carbonari encourages Kalispell residents to support downtown businesses in a safe and socially distancing manner.
