2020 Papa Hops Softball Tournament Canceled Due To Coronavirus

CHICAGO — The Papa Hops 16" Softball Tournament, held yearly in mid-July at three neighborhood parks, won't occur this year as a way to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. Organizers announced last week that the tournament has been canceled and that there will be other ways this year to raise money for the Tom Hopkins Foundation that helps local families battling cancer and youth athletics.

"We find it is in our participants and attendees best interest to postpone the tournament until next year," organizers wrote in a statement that can be found in full below. "The Tom Hopkins Foundation stands with our community in taking the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the virus."

The tournament, which last year was voted on Patch as the best yearly event held in Beverly, Mount Greenwood or Morgan Park, draws thousands of people to Kennedy Park on a Friday night in mid-July for the final rounds of the tournament.

It's the fourth major neighborhood event to have been either canceled, postponed or altered as a result of the coronavirus spread. Already in 2020, the neighborhood has seen the South Side Irish Parade canceled, the Beverly Breast Cancer Walk moved virtually and the Ridge Run/Memorial Day Parade moved to Labor Day Weekend.

Also On Patch: Ed Farmer, Voice Of 'Papa Hops,' Dies At 70

Papa Hops organizers have vowed to have the tournament return for its seventh year in 2021.

This article originally appeared on the Beverly-MtGreenwood Patch