The 2020 Can Cruise, scheduled for this weekend (March 21), has been delayed indefinitely due to Coronavirus fears.

Speaking with the Mudgee Guardian, Cudgegong Cruisers treasurer John Stuart said it wasn't an easy decision to make.

"No, it was fairly difficult. You know, we're below the threshold but you think 'well...' and there's no cases so far in the Mid-Western Region but you know there's a potential risk so we've just erred on the side of caution I suppose," he said.

"it's disappointing because it raises good funds for Can Assist to continue their work but people have unfortunately being diagnosed with cancer... so we're just hopeful that things will settle down and maybe later in the year - you know, if we up get to later in the year - whether we run a big event or we just run some event you know. To keep our presence in the community I suppose.

This year's event would have marked 12 years of Can Cruise.

John said he doesn't have the exact number but guesses Can Cruise has given $120,000 to Can Assist over the years and nearly $30,000 to other charities and groups like Riannons Wheels.

John is hopeful that once everything settles down, they can hold a smaller-scale event later in the year.

"With everything that's going on it just seems to be snowballing every day of the week... it's a real shame. And the Mudgee community is so supportive and the indications were that we were going to get a good number of people but if we'd have left it any later the make a decision we'd start to incur costs that we really didn't want to," John said.

"We'll just see, hopefully maybe later in the year we can still do something but who knows how long this thing's going to go on?"

Earlier:

The 12th annual Can Cruise - hosted by Cudgegong Cruisers Inc and Can Assist volunteers - will hit the road next Saturday and with recent rain it will be a drive in the green countryside.

Any type of vehicle is invited to enter the one-day event, just as long as it's registered because it's held on public roads.

This year's run will begin at the Mudgee Showground, from 8am with the Show N Shine and breakfast. At about 10.30-11am, the cruise itself begins, heading down Church Street to Gulgong for morning tea at the Bowling Club, before continuing on to Dunedoo for lunch and the presentation and live music.

From there, those with tickets to the sold-out screening of Running On Empty at the WestView Drive-in will continue on to Dubbo. Alternatively, other Can Cruisers can head home.

John Stuart, of Cudgegong Cruisers Inc, said that the change of pace for 2020 was not only to tie in with the showing of the classic Australian motoring movie, but was also due to challenging conditions.

"It will be the barbecue lunch at Dunedoo, then people can cruise to Dubbo if they've got a ticket or come back here if they please," he said.

"This year is going to be slightly different and we're going to have a small auction at Dunedoo, whereas in the past we'd always come back to Mudgee and have a big auction.

"But we just felt that this year - with the drought and fires - whilst the Mudgee community is very generous they've had a lot of asked of it. People have been very generous, but we thought we'd go a bit lighter."

Entry is $40 per person or $80 for a family.

All money raised goes to Can Assist - Mudgee and Districts Branch and hence stays in the local region helping those doing it tough with a cancer diagnosis. Such as with oncology related pharmacy items, accommodation during treatment, travel, home aides, and utility expenses in times of financial hardship.

Motorists are once again advised that the cruise down the main street of Mudgee will likely slow traffic slightly, however will provide an opportunity to check out some beautiful vehicles.