ELGIN — One of Elgin’s most popular annual events will rev up again this spring after a one-year hiatus.

Riverfest, an event celebrating Elgin, was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but is set to return June 19.

“We are very excited,” said Kathy Oliver, president of the Elgin Lions Club, which puts on the annual event.

The centerpiece of Riverfest will again be its car show, to be conducted on a field near the Elgin Community Center. The car show is annually one of the first to be conducted in Northeast Oregon and draws at least 70 vehicles a year.

Oliver said it will be easy to hold the event at this site and meet social distancing standards for COVID-19. She explained the field is spacious enough that vehicles can be at least 6 feet apart from one another. The car show also will have signs reminding people to practice social distancing.

The car show, as in past years, likely will feature vehicles from as far away as Boise, Idaho, and Seattle, Oliver said. She said that in past years almost all participants have driven the vehicles to the show instead of hauling them on trailers.

“We have few trailer queens,” she said.

Oliver and her husband, Steve Oliver, again will have their cars displayed in the show. Her car will be a 1972 Volkswagen, and his will be a 1965 Ford Thunderbird.

The car show is one of a limited number conducted on grass fields instead of asphalt lots or streets. Kathy Oliver said this makes it more popular because it allows it to be conducted in a cooler environment. Car show visitors and participants enjoy having the show in a field instead of on pavement.

“People enjoy strolling in the grass,’’ she said, noting that pavement gets hot and is “hard on the tires and hard on people.”

Old agricultural equipment again will be on display near the car show, including a steam-powered tractor. Many farmers in the late 1800s and early 1900s used steam-powered tractors.

Members of the Elgin Fire Department return as well to Riverfest to serve the Firemen’s Breakfast.

Traditionally the breakfast has been served indoors but this year it likely will be outdoors to make it easier to meet social distancing standards.

A quilt show also could again be held in Elgin High School’s gym. The Lions Club will make a final decision on that later this month, Oliver said.

Even with the quilt show, Riverfest will be smaller this year to allow for social distancing standards.

“There will be fewer activities and it will not be as long,” Oliver said.

She expects that Riverfest will be back to normal in 2022, if the pandemic is over by then.

“By next year it will be in full swing,” Oliver said.