As COVID-19 has prompted the cancellation of several large events this summer, one event that brings thousands of people to Guthrie County annually is taking precautions if it is eventually cancelled.

Guthrie’s River Ruckus organizers announced this week that they are waiting until the end of the month to make an official decision on postponing the music festival to next year. They stated that they haven’t spent any funds on advertising the event, which is set to have Miranda Lambert as its headliner, since COVID-19 began spreading in the U.S. Organizer Grant Sheeder says the entire artist lineup scheduled for this year have committed to return in 2021 if COVID-19 conditions don’t improve by June 1st, “We’re in very close contact with a lot of officials as far as the well being of the fans, and we just kind of got to keep our financial well being in mind also. Again, we’re dealing with a lot of people in essentially a small area with a lot of people coming from not only Iowa but others. We’ve got tickets sold in five other states to date.”

Sheeder adds that tickets and campsites purchased by the end of the month will be honored next year if the festival is postponed. If that happens, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allows large social gatherings by the end of July, the organizers hope to host a scaled-down event with regional artists and a smaller ticket price to help offset festival expenses and still have a celebration for those that are comfortable attending.