The 2019 Canberra Nara Candle Festival has been cancelled due to strong winds battering the nation's capital.
The festival is a celebration of Canberra's relationship with its sister city Nara in Japan, and usually features Japanese music, spectacular lighting displays and activities such as lantern-making, origami and calligraphy at Nara Peace Park.
It was due to take place on Saturday afternoon, but the combination of a blustery forecast plus preparation delays caused by a dust storm on Friday mean it won't happen again until next year.
The windy weather has also kept the Emergency Services Agency busy. It has received 23 calls for help from across the ACT between Friday afternoon and Saturday night.
"Fallen trees and branches have caused most of the trouble with crews removing them from roads, houses, and cars," it said in a statement.
"If you need assistance, please call 132 500. In a life-threatening emergency always call Triple Zero (000)."
Friday's strong winds also caused the cancellation of the Moncrieff Diwali Festival, a Hindu festival of light which was due to take place today.
An Events ACT spokesperson said the decision to cancel the Nara Candle Festival was made in the interest of public safety, with forecast winds of 45 to 55km/h set to hit Canberra. Gusts of 70 to 80km/h are also forecast, with a medium chance of showers.
Friday's dusty conditions aren't set to be replicated on the weekend, with Canberrans waking up to clean air quality on Saturday morning.
A Bureau of Meteorology forecaster told The Canberra Times the winds were being caused by a cold front moving over southern NSW and the ACT.
"Saturday will see strong westerly winds across the area," Stephen Stefanac said.
"The cold front will move out to sea, but we'll still be getting the strong winds on Sunday."
Events ACT said they would like to thank everyone involved in preparations for the Nara festival, and they looked forward to bringing it back in 2020.
