No races, festivals, parades in Raleigh through March 31

Raleigh City Council on Tuesday moved to cancel any special events through March 31, 2021.

By that time it will have been more than a year since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the United States, forcing stay-at-home orders and causing almost a quarter-million deaths. The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is known to spread through close contact, and as it spread, events like concerts, festivals and parades have been canceled worldwide.

"We are also preparing for the inevitable. COVID is not going away, winter is going to be difficult with spiking cases and realistically, people need months to prepare for events," Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said in a statement on Tuesday.

Raleigh lost out on Dreamville, the J.Cole-backed music festival at Dix Park in the spring, on the Wide Open Bluegrass event which brought an additional $18 million to Wake County coffers in 2019, and on the annual Christmas parade and First Night celebrations.

Before the deadline set by council, Raleigh will miss out on a second St. Patrick's Day Parade.