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The 60th annual Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo has been canceled.

Opp Mayor Becky Bracke made the announcement that the annual music, arts and crafts and educational event would be postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at Monday night’s council meeting.

Recommendations from the Trump administration is that crowds of no more than 10 gather together to cut down on the spread of the virus, which has affected the entire world.

Tuesday evening, the Rattlesnake Rodeo Committee met to discuss how to proceed. Bracke is opposed to having it at Channell-Lee Stadium after May for fear of messing up the turf.

Don Childre, said that any later than May would not be feasible for the rodeo’s star attraction – the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake.

“The best thing to do is turn them a loose as they do after the rodeos,” he said.

Bracke said to her it’s just like a rain out, only better.

“It’s the coronavirus,” she said. “It’s stopping the whole world. My vote is to cancel it and start over next year. Nobody is more disappointed than me.”

Robert Boothe said the group should try a “Summer Rattler” event.

“We have always said we need to try something else,” he said. “This is our opportunity to try it.”

Other committee members said there is so much going on during the summer that they did not think people would turn out for the event.

Tickets will be refunded. To receive a refund, ticket holders must bring their ticket to City Hall in order to receive the refund.

Committee members will contact sponsors about returning their money and vendors will receive a refund.

“The safety of our commmunity is more important than anything else,” Bracke said. “We are looking forward to an amazing rodeo in 2021.”