Who wants to kiss a fish during COVID-19? Screech master faces a slow summer

Newfoundland and Labrador's silliest tourismtradition has come to a complete standstill this summer, as the province's self-proclaimed "master screecher" says COVID-19 concerns havecompletely dried up demand for screech-ins.

From the end of May through to the end of September, Keith Vokey says, he usually performs upwards of three screech-in ceremonies a day in St. John's, regaling tourists with local lore and song, a bit of bologna, a shot of rum and, of course, kissing the cod.

This year, he's gotten two calls for bookings both for 2021.

"I'm already halfway through my season and losing money by the day," said Vokey."I've kind of given up the ghost on this summer."

Vokeyspeculated it would be a lean season when the pandemic first hit Newfoundland and Labrador at the end of March, but has been able to avail of CERB to carry him through, as well has his wife's full-time job.

"My bread and butter is the screeching-ins," he said.

"Until I hear otherwise from the government, I'm assuming there's not going to be much there for me."

Sanitize the scales?

While the province is set to loosen public health restrictions with its move to Alert Level 2 on Thursday,saliva-swapping via fish scales has probably never seemed less appealing than now, and Vokey admits it would be hard to alter a screech-in to make it fit in a COVID-19 world.

He could silence his singing, but when it comes to the cod, spraying it with sanitizer between kisses probably won't work.

"I don't think the fish would last very long that way," he told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show.

• Kiss the fish: Exploring the history, lore and controversy of the screech-in

• Come From Away cast wraps emotional visit to Newfoundland with screech-in

Vokeyis a second-generation screech master perhaps the only one in the province, as his father Merle Vokey is largely credited with popularizing the well-marketed "tradition" that involves a Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corp.branded product.

Keith Vokey caught the ceremony bug when enlisted to carry his dad's screech-in gear to initiateRush while they were in town for a gig.

"They were so wonderful. In fact, I walked out of that going, like, 'Wow, if my dad can meet Rush, who am I going to meet going into this?'"he said.

With the Tragically Hip, Barenaked Ladies, and the Arkells among his CanCon celebrity screech-ins, "it's been a wonderful ride," Vokey said.

It's aride he hopesisn't over yet. He misses his work dearly, and saidif he gets a call, he'll figure out a way to do it hygienically.

"I'm very lucky to be doing what I'm doing, and Isee this as a bump in the road," he said.

From the archives

Screech-ins have drawn crowds, and fire, for decades. Here is a report by the CBC's Brian Dubrueil from 1990:

From the archives: Screech-in scrutiny

4 years ago

Duration 2:45

From 1990, Brian Dubreuil reports on how how the popular ceremony that turns tourists into 'honorary Newfoundlanders' was coming under criticism

Read morefrom CBC Newfoundland and Labrador