April 23, 2020
URRG Members,
There is no soft way to put this, so we’ll be direct: we feel that there is no responsible way to host URRF-7 this June.
Even as downstate NY begins to see light at the end of the tunnel, communities in the upstate region are still at risk of infection. As such, encouraging large numbers of visitors from out of the area – or indeed, out of state – is not a wise thing to do.
With the Coronavirus continuing to spread and has impacted larger sections of the country, the URRG Board of Directors has had to continuously reevaluate upcoming events. As previously noted, the launches for both April and May are already scrubbed.
We did investigate the possibility of rescheduling the event. However, the conditions that allow URRF to take place in June are unique – there’s a narrow window between the start of summer and the growth of the nearby crops. We are, afterall, operating on an active farm. By the time the crops are harvested and the rear field is accessible again, we are out into the cooler and wetter months. So, with that in mind, URRF-7 is canceled outright for 2020. We expect, though, for URRF to come with a roar in June of 2021.
The Torrey Farm, which hosts our events, is running with reduced staff and has had to plant crops differently than we’re used to. Our favorite campground, Country Charm, is uncertain to be able to accomodate us. And on top of that, the financial burden that this pandemic has placed the majority of people in means that turn out would be low even if we did fly. In short as much as it pains us to admit, putting on a large regional launch this summer is just not practical.
Even though URRF is scrubbed, we would like to thank our members and our guests for their support and regret the inconvenience. Anyone that has already registered for the event, or purchased tee shirts and raffle tickets, can expect a refund by PayPal. We would also like to thank the vendors that were lined up to attend the event as well; we would’ve seen a larger turn out than in the past and many of these vendors had already donated prizes for the raffles.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for updates. At the time of this writing, we anticipate our season opening with the July launch, on the weekend of the 18th of that month. Also, we are pleased to announce that in lieu of having spring meetings and launches, URRG will host a general membership meeting by Zoom on the evening of May 6 that 6:30PM. This will at least give us the chance to chat, pass on the news, and have some show-and-tell. So check back soon for more information.
Stay healthy and stay safe!
Sincerely,
The URRG BOD
Potter Rocketeer – Spring 2020 Edition!
