Stanfest cancelled as Tropical Storm Arthur heads for Nova Scotia

The Stan Rogers Folk Festival in Canso, N.S., has been cancelled because of the approach of Tropical Storm Arthur, organizers announced Wednesday.

Troy Greencorn, the artistic director of Stanfest, said he consulted with Environment Canada before making the decision to call off the festival, which was due to run July 4 to 6.

"What we got was a pretty clear indication that the storm is going to make landfall. The only question is when and exactly where," he told CBC News.

"They could tell us with quite a bit of certainty that we could be looking at as high as 115, 120-kilometre winds and the rain, which they estimated at 100 millimetres over a 12-hour period."

A note on the Stan Rogers Folk Festival website said it was "impossible in these circumstances for us to guarantee public safety."

"That makes the decision for us. Its a horrible decision to have to make after so much work by so many people, but we just aren't prepared to take the risks," said the statement.

Landing between Bay of Fundy and Sable Island

CBC meteorologist Kalin Mitchell says the latest forecast track brings Arthur just south of Nova Scotia early Saturday morning as a Category 1 Hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometres per hour.

He said there is still a good deal of uncertainty in that track, but current possibilities have Arthur moving through the Bay of Fundy or swinging far out toward Sable Island.

"There is a high degree of confidence that parts of the Maritimes will be dealing with heavy rain and strong winds this weekend," said Mitchell.

"Everyone in the Maritimes should have a plan for dealing with weather systems like Arthur."

Environment Canada said Arthur's path will be pushed toward Atlantic Canada by a trough of low pressure.

"At this point the likelihood is for an offshore track which would lead to a primarily 'rain event' over land," said Environment Canada.

Stanfest organizers said they will be updating ticket holders through the festivals website by early next week.