Hurricane Irene's impending path toward the Northeast has caused the cancellation of Lansdale's inaugural Founders Day and the Festival of the Arts.

Lansdale Farmers Market continues rain or shine.

The Founders Day Steering Committee announced the cancellation Friday afternoon.

Founders Day and its culminating fireworks spectacle were the dreams of councilwoman Mary Fuller.

"I'm heartbroken," Fuller said. "I understand it. This is right call to make, absolutely, for safety reasons. It's going to be a big storm, and  even if we stay ahead of it, people need to be preparing their own, making sure their own house is in order."

The last thing the committee and borough want is to pull a lot of people into town; if the storm happens earlier, then people are trying to get out of town.

"Not to mention the borough people who will be on duty all night and even into Monday or beyond with cleanup and damage they will have to deal with," she said. "That's where their energy needs to be focused. And people need to be focused on preparing their homes and putting emergency services into place."

As far as rescheduling Founders Day, a date has not been discussed at this time.

"We haven't made that technical determination yet," said Fuller. "We are focused on getting the word out that it's not happening tomorrow."

Fuller said recapturing Founders Day "may be unlikely until next year."

"I don't think it's totally scrapped," she said. "I'm sad, but realistic."

Fuller said the steering committee is definitely rescheduling the fireworks.

"We are looking into when that can happen based on everybody's schedule," Fuller said.

She joked that she had told people over and over not to mention the "R word" (rain), thereby jinxing the event.

"I should have thought 'The H Word.' Who would have thought a hurricane would blow in?" she said. "It's a crap shoot, when you pick it, of what will happen."

The Founders Day Steering Committee is erring on the side of safety for everybody.

"If (Founders Day) is next year at the 140th anniversary, we start preparing now to make it even better than this year," she said. "I'm still optimistic. It will happen. Lansdale will have a Founders Day. Of that, I'm sure. It may not be until August 2012, but we'll have it." 

Below are the details of what is cancelled Saturday.

Lansdale Festival of the Arts, scheduled for Memorial Park and Penndale Middle School, will not move inside Penndale Middle School, according to a press release from borough communications coordinator Tracy Flynn.

The cancellation means the kick-off ceremony by the Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia is off, as are the open houses for Lansdale Borough Hall, Lansdale Police and Fairmount Fire Co.

An open house at The Reporter and at PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce is also cancelled.

The Lansdale Historical Society tours at Jenkins Homestead are off, as are the viewing of Star Wars: The Clone Wars at Lansdale Library and the subsequent meet and greet with Star Wars characters.

Borough pools will be closed, and fireworks will be cancelled.

Stay tuned for further updates.