As more and more large scale events, get canceled due to Coronavirus fears, it was only a matter of time before the novel virus took a fly fishing event down. The first to fall, the 2020 Orvis Guide Rendezvous set to take place on March 21 in Roanoke, VA.
Coronavirus fears have also sparked waves of destination fly fishing travel cancellations and drove airfares down to incredibly low levels. So, if you think you’ve got what it takes to brave the airport and avoid the virus, chug some EmergenC, grab a few bottles of hand sanitizer and take full advantage of the lower prices and go fish somewhere new!
From Orvis:
Dear Orvis Endorsed Partners and Friends,
Like businesses across the country, here at Orvis we have been monitoring the ever-evolving situation with Covid-19, the coronavirus. Our top priority throughout has been the health and well-being of our employees, our partners, and our customers.
As a global show, OGR attracts people from all parts of the world and the United States. After careful consideration of the recommendations and guidance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and our partners at Global Rescue – as well as conversations with many of you – we have decided to cancel the Orvis Guide Rendezvous in Roanoke, VA later this month. At this time the Down the Hatch Festival will take place as scheduled at Roanoke’s Elmwood Park on March 21, 2020.
This decision was not made lightly. We value our partnership with each of you tremendously and understand how important the Orvis Guide Rendezvous is to the fly-fishing and wing-shooting community. We are working to bring the content of OGR to you for 2020, which will come in the form of electronic presentations and recorded sessions. We will be in communication with you on those sessions as the timing becomes clearer.
We also know you will have other questions around this cancellation. We appreciate your patience while we work through logistics internally. We promise to keep you informed and we will reach out again in the coming week.
This community is incredibly important to Orvis and we look forward to connecting with you every year at this event. We thank you for your partnership as we all try to keep our community safe and healthy during this global challenge. Thank you again for your patience and understanding.
Best Regards:
Bill McLaughlin
President & CEO
Simon Perkins
Chief Operating Officer
Steve Hemkens
VP, Rod and Tackle
Scott McEnaney
Director, Orvis Adventures
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