Phoenix events cancelled or rescheduled due to heavy rain

Okay, the weekend, mostly a washout, canceling several events on the schedule for months, but Mother Nature had other plans. Irene Snyder has the story. It's not a sight you see all too often in Arizona. Heavy rain all day long. We were looking at the forecast during the course of the week and it became rather obvious that we're going to have a lot of rain. The annual Dia de los Muertos festival at St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix got rained out. We put the plans into place certainly a few days in advance, you know, but we wanted to wait till Thursday. You know, sometimes the weather here in Phoenix can be so unpredictable that we called it on Thursday morning. And that's a big deal because we have to cancel. All the permits. Parish manager at St. Mary's Basilica, Jerome Doris, says it was a lot of work setting all of this up, only to have to reschedule the whole thing. Outside today is very quiet, but if this was not raining today, there would be a hive of activity here. We'd have 24 craft vendors, local people in the plaza there. The street would be closed. We'd have 10 food trucks. Other events, including Bug Fest at the Arizona Boardwalk and the last scheduled day of the Arizona State Fair. Also got canceled due to weather. The Dia de los Muertos event will still happen, just not until next Sunday, November 8th. In the meantime, they'll have a smaller version of their Dia de los Muertos altar inside the church. It's a cultural thing that has been here for many years, and it's the ability for people to remember their loved ones. That's really what it is. And to take some time, and it's a celebratory thing as well. And it's very much... Of course, part of Hispanic culture that we can all learn from. It's a very beautiful event. Extending the celebration all week long. They will be here after the 11:30 Mass. We'll be here all week. It's almost a week-long celebration we're having now, not just a day celebration of Dia de los Muertos. Irene Schneider, Fox 10 News.