A crowd gathers on Main Street before the rain moved in at Fall Festival 2015. This year, with reports of expected rain from Hurricane Ian, the Butler Fall Festival has been canceled. Butler Eagle file photo

DAVE PRELOSKY

The Butler Fall Festival, scheduled for Saturday on Butler Main Street, has been canceled.

Dahn Kilroy, vice president of the fall festival board, said the board had a meeting Friday morning where its members passed a motion to cancel this year’s event on account of inclement weather.

“We as a committee decided it was in the best interest of the vendors and participants to cancel it for safety because of the hurricane on its way,” Kilroy said. “We're really bummed about it, but our first priority is for our community.”

Kilroy said that she only knows of one other year the event was canceled because of weather. It also did not take place in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition to the safety of everyone involved in the festival, Kilroy said that many people may not have attended the event had it gone on this year anyway, because of the inclement weather expected. She said it is a rain or shine event, but this year’s forecast was too risky.

“We have had it when it has rained before,” Kilroy said. “When it comes to this sort of thing with rain and winds, it's just for the safety of everyone.”