TOMBSTONE — The TubaChristmas concert scheduled for Dec. 12 in Tombstone has been cancelled because of spikes in COVID-19 cases across the state.

“Following Wednesday’s executive order by Gov. Doug Ducey that sets special requirements on public events of 50 or more people, we are being forced to cancel the concert,” said Lorie Sheridan, band director of Joyce Clark Middle School and one of the TubaChristmas coordinators. “Even though this was planned as an outdoor concert, the City of Tombstone had concerns about the size of the crowd.”

Through Ducey’s order, when a public event is approved, the local jurisdiction is to announce details about what is being done to carry it out safely in order to enforce mitigation strategies.

“Since we don’t know how many players to expect for the concert, and have no way of knowing what the crowd size will be like, Tombstone officials felt it would be best to cancel. It's disappointing, but we certainly understand their concerns.”

The upcoming concert would have marked the tenth TubaChristmas performance in Tombstone.