The Castle Douglas Soap Box derby has been cancelled for the third year running.
The event made a successful debut in 2019 but has been cancelled in the last two years due to the pandemic.
And while organisers had aimed for it to return in July, they have had to admit defeat once more.
One of the organisers, Matt Mckerlie, told the News: “With new variants and the uncertainty it was too much to plan again to then get to a certain stage and realise it’s not going to happen.
“It’s in everyone’s interests to call it early and ride out the storm again.
“It was getting to the stage of paying deposits and making bookings and people who are organising stalls don’t want to spend lots of money and then it doesn’t happen.
“It’s not an easy decision for us but I think it’s the right decision to make. There are other events around the country, some have managed to do it and some have had to cancel.
“One in England had to cancel four days before and reckon they lost five or six grand. There’s a high chance now that won’t run again. It’s money we have raised through sponsorships and donations so have to watch what we do with it.
“Just now, events with 1,000 people, have to have 50 per cent of attendees with a negative test. We’d have to have people primarily to police that and it’s not something we can do and you can’t social distance on King Street like they want us to.”
Although it’s not good news for this year, there are promising signs for the 2023 version.
And there may still be some sort of entertainment in Castle Douglas this year.
Mr Mckerlie added: “We are hoping to organise something that could be a bit of a laugh but it’s in the early stages.
“It would maybe be some sort of inflatable obstacle course or Tough Mudder so that everyone can get involved but it’s still early days yet.
“Fingers crossed the derby happens next year and entry is going to be free for people to race. We want to come back bigger and better.
“We want to get the vibe back as it’s been two years now.”
