Kelly Creek Flycasters has canceled its annual North Idaho Fly Fishing Expo at Lewiston on March 20 and 21 because of coronavirus concerns, and the Lewiston Tribune will postpone its showing of the Fly Fishing Film Tour that was to be held March 19.

Both events were to take place at the Red Lion Hotel in Lewiston. The expo, known as NIFFE, typically includes two days of fly tying and fly fishing demonstrations and workshops, capped by the group’s annual banquet.

“The Kelly Creek Flycasters Board of Directors and the NIFFE committee decided to take the advice of many health authorities in helping our friends, clients, sponsors and the general public distance themselves from the COVID-19 virus,” read a statement released by the group Tuesday. “The expo draws several hundred people from Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Utah, placing them near one another, which would violate the recommendation of avoiding larger social gatherings.”

The Tribune and the fishing group were holding the expo and film in conjunction, hoping the draw of each event would be beneficial to the other. Without the expo and its expected crowd, leaders at the newspaper opted to seek another date for the film when more is known about the virus, its spread and best practices to halt it.

“This is a logical decision following the announcement by our NIFFE partners,” said Doug Bauer, director of marketing for the Lewiston Tribune. “The event was envisioned as a three-day celebration of the Pacific Northwest’s fly fishing culture. We hope to regroup and plan another date for the film festival in the next month or two.”

Bauer said those who have purchased tickets for the film showing are welcome to hold them for later use. Those who are unable to attend that as-of-yet rescheduled showing can get a refund.

Kelly Creek Flycasters, a nonprofit organization that promotes fly fishing and carries out several educational and charitable programs centered around the sport, plans to hold the expo next year.

“Although we are disappointed to cancel this very fun event, we hope to see you at NIFFE 2021,” the group said in its release.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.