SISTERS — For many vendors at the Fall Street Festival in Sisters, Saturday was their first chance all year to sell their art, crafts and antiques.

The COVID-19 pandemic canceled most festivals across the country, leaving vendors with few options.

“It’s been a terrible year,” said Jamie Morgan, a Portland photographer who had a booth at the festival in downtown Sisters. “I haven’t been able to get out and sell anything.”

Morgan was able to show passersby her nature photography, including photos of wolves, hummingbirds and mountain landscapes. But a festival during a pandemic also means Morgan, who wore a mask, answered questions in muffled tones.

Every visitor to the 13th annual festival wore a mask and signed in at the entrance as a way for health officials to trace people if someone became infected with the coronavirus. Visitors were also offered hand sanitizer at the entrances on Oak and Main streets.

“Everybody is doing what they are supposed to do,” Morgan said. “Everybody is very easy going.”

Richard Esterman, a Sisters city councilor and the local event planner who organized the Fall Street Festival, said he was determined to make the event happen, even as Gov. Kate Brown warned Oregonians about in-person activities on Labor Day Weekend. The festival continues Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Esterman was issued a permit from the city with approval from the Deschutes County Health Department, he said.

Esterman agreed to limit the number of vendors to 44, which is half as many as in previous years. And he made sure signs were in place reminding people to wear masks and keep their distance.

“A lot of these artists have been out of work and I fought really hard to get this show on so they could at least have some income,” Esterman said.

The governor’s office appealed to Oregonians Friday to limit gatherings and travel over the holiday weekend, especially since previous holiday weekends caused COVID-19 cases to spike this summer.

The request did not affect the festival, which followed the governor’s requirements under the Phase 2 reopening plan for Deschutes County.

“Based on the guidance, it looks like if they followed all the specific precautions, a fair would be permissible in a Phase 2 county,” Philip Schmidt, spokesperson for the Oregon Health Authority, said Friday prior to the festival.

Redmond resident Becky Figone was grateful the festival was happening Saturday. Figone, who works at an assisted living facility in Redmond, came to the festival with her retired mother, Dolores LaCroix.

The two have gone to the festival every year since it started. They were slightly disappointed in fewer vendors, but were fine with wearing their face masks as they looked for soaps and spices.

They felt like they could easily keep their distance from the vendors, who were set up a bit further apart than normal.

“They’re always spaced out anyway with their own tents,” Figone said.

Larry Rankin, an artist with Art to Suit You, a metal artwork shop in Leavenworth, Washington, brought his items to the festival.

Rankin usually travels around the Northwest to shows and festivals in the summer, but was limited to only a few shows in Montana this year due to the virus.

Rankin sold his artwork at previous festivals in Sisters, but didn’t know what to expect Saturday. He was pleasantly surprised to see everyone wearing their masks and interested in buying his art.

“We are selling as good as we ever did,” Rankin said.