With no indication of when mass gathering restrictions will be lifted, the festival committee was left with no choice but to shelve the popular event.

Organisers posted a statement on the festival's Facebook page about the situation.

"As you can probably imagine, a lot of planning, preparation and costs goes into an event like ours and without the certainty of things returning to normal between now and July it leaves us with no other choice then to cancel for 2020 and focus on how we can return for 2021 bigger and better."

They thanked all supporters of the festival and will push forward with plans for the 2021 event.

You may also like: Funding to help ease bushfire burden on coastal waterways

The committee regularly spoke with MidCoast Council, State and federal government representatives before making the decision.

With the community's health and safety as the top priority, organisers waited until the end of April to make the final call.

People from Newcastle, Central Coast, Sydney and the North Coast attend the festival each year. It was expanded to a two-day event in 2019.

Stay ahead with local news by signing up for the Great Lakes Advocate newsletter here.