Pa. Cigar Box Guitar Festival canceled over COVID-19 concerns

The Pennsylvania Cigar Box Guitar Festival will not take place this year due to concerns about COVID-19, organizer Jim Lewin announced Friday.

The 11th annual festival had been slated for Aug. 29 at the York Emporium in York City, the used book store Lewin owns.

"We've had some serious discussions with our sponsors, the musicians and many of the vendors," Lewin said in an email Friday. "All agreed that it was the right decision. We just did not want to put anyone at risk."

The cigar box guitar is a traditional folk instrument that was first documented during the Civil War, Lewin told The York Dispatch last year. 

As of Monday, 1,169 people in York County were confirmed positive for COVID-19 since the outbreak began, the state Department of Health reported.

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