Folks hoping to compete in Sticky Fingers bakery’s 4th annual cupcake eating contest, among other foodie activities at tomorrow’s planned Columbia Heights Day festival, will have to wait until next year. Blame Irene. Organizer Sergio Herrera just issued the following statement:

“It saddens us to say, due to circumstances beyond our control, the 5th Annual Columbia Heights Day Festival is canceled. Many of the companies and services that we rely on to present the festival are unable to perform their contracted duties for us, due to the potential of extreme weather. We sincerely apologize for the last minute notification, but our decision to cancel the festival is based on information provided to us this morning.

“We are in the process of reaching out to all festival participants to make them aware of the event cancellation. Over the coming days, we will be answering specific questions from individual people and organizations regarding this situation. Until then, we thank you in advance for your patience as we sort through the logistics; please stayed tuned to our Facebook and Webpage for updates.”

UPDATE, 4 p.m.: A spokesperson for the festival emailed to say that  bars along 11th Street NW will be carrying on with a day of celebration. Wonderland, Room 11, Red Rocks and Meridian Pint will be offering specials all day. And Columbia Heights Day organizers will be selling t-shirts throughout the afternoon.