For the first time in 56 years, there will be no Hoquiam Loggers Playday competition at Olympic Stadium the Saturday after Labor Day Weekend.

At a Playday committee meeting Wednesday, a letter to Playday Chairman Josh Lennox from Hoquiam Mayor Ben Winkelman was read by Hoki Moir to about 30 in attendance. In the letter, Winkelman said because of the state’s restrictions on social gatherings due to COVID-19, the city could not rent Olympic Stadium for the event.

Playday organizers had said earlier that they would proceed with planning for the event, realizing they might not be able to hold it.

The Hoquiam Elks, who organize the Grand Parade held the day of Loggers Playday each year, announced earlier this year it would not be able to hold it in 2020.

Winkelman said he had consulted with the county Public Health Department and Gov. Jay Inslee’s office about events at Olympic Stadium.

“I waited a few extra weeks in hopes the circumstances would change as we got closer to the date of your event,” wrote Winkelman in the letter dated Aug. 10. “It is with much regret that due to circumstances completely out of my control I must inform your committee that it has been made quite clear the City of Hoquiam will not be able to rent Olympic Stadium for Loggers Playday 2020.”

After the meeting, Moir said nobody was really surprised about the cancellation, and the committee has no regrets about planning for the longstanding tribute to the region’s rich logging industry; the first Loggers Playday was held in 1966.

“What people sometimes don’t realize is it takes 10 months to plan Loggers Playday,” he said. As the committee stated from the beginning, it had been working hard to plan for a variation of the event featuring local competitors in hopes circumstances would improve.

While there won’t be the roar of the saws and cheers of the crowd at Olympic Stadium come Sept. 12, as things stand now, the stadium will be far from silent. Playday emcee Don Bell pledged early on that even if the competition couldn’t take place, they still hoped to do the annual fireworks display.

Wednesday, committee member Paul McMillan — a Hoquiam City Councilman — said he had spoken with the city about a fireworks display and early indications are that it will be a go. City Administrator Brian Shay said Friday it was his understanding that the fireworks could be set off at the stadium, with no facility rental fee, but was not sure if anything had been finalized.

Bell said he was looking at foregoing the ground displays, loud and popular when the stands are full, in favor of an all-aerial display, which will be visible for miles around the stadium. McMillan said he’s been told there could be challenges procuring the fireworks in light of the pandemic, but the committee will work to make it happen.

The focus of much of the meeting, outside the unfortunate cancellation notice most of the committee suspected was coming, was on the six young women in the Loggers Playday court. Five of the six were at the meeting, dressed in their red suspenders, tin hats and hickory shirts. The only reason the sixth wasn’t there was because she had to work.

It was announced that button sales in local businesses were down, for obvious reasons, with the COVID-19 restrictions in place over the past few months. However, the Playday court was able to collect through their own button sales a total of $13,629 in sales and donations, more than has been collected in many years.

A court queen was selected, Moir’s daughter Amelia. The Moir family has a long history with Loggers Playday. In the dedication to last year’s event, Moir said his grandfather was an early competitor in the event, his dad was committee chairman in 1979, and Moir was co-chair along with his brother in 1996.

With all the festivals around the region canceled this summer, the court won’t have the opportunity to serve as ambassadors to the city at parades and other events, not even in the now-canceled Playday parade. The committee tossed some ideas out about how to honor their hard work for the event, perhaps with a “parade” like those done by Aberdeen and Hoquiam high schools to honor their graduates.

Of all the disappointments, the court’s annual splash into the log rolling pool rang true with many. Some suggestions for an alternate — most tongue-in-cheek — were tossed out, as the committee continues to work to honor the court’s dedication and hard work.

Moir said the committee has delivered two $1,500 scholarships to Hoquiam students Ben Estes and Carsyn Munger. He said the committee received 19 applications from Hoquiam students and 15 or so from those outside Hoquiam.

Winkelman’s letter to the Playday committee ended with, “I understand the Hoquiam Elks Lodge decided to cancel the related Grand Parade as well. The sense of community pride, long-standing tradition and endless hours of commitment from volunteers and committee members who make this event so successful will surely take this set of circumstances to heart and missing a year will leave a mark. If any community is strong enough to overcome these trying times, it is here in our hometown logging communities like Hoquiam. Stay strong. Plan for the future. Reflect on the past and make the next Loggers Playday an event to rock the record books. Please let me know if there is anything we can do at City Hall to help in what are trying times for everyone.”