Dear Folkfest Community,
Thursday April 9th, 2020
We have been doing everything we can to be good community members through practicing physical distancing, learning how to effectively hold Zoom meetins for our board and membership and accessing all the information we can to assist us with making the best decisions.
Of course, the looming question is — “Will there be a Folkfest this year?” While we do not have an answer to this question today, we do want to assure you that we will do everything we can to bring you a festival this year if health experts deem it safe to do so. We are currently assessing what the options are: the full festival as per usual, a scaled-down version or a postponement until next year.
It will really depend on how things change with the COVID-19 situation in the coming weeks. Folkfest is committed to creating an unparalleled multicultural experience and we feel a responsibility to all of those who support us: audience, entertainers, funders, sponsors, vendors and all of our volunteers. Culture is one of the key elements that binds us as a community – and we will continue to be a part of that, no matter what it looks like.
For now, we are postponing any further decisions. We need to wait and assess as this pandemic progresses, reviewing updates, connecting with our membership and pavilion colleagues and doing what we can to continue with planning and preparations. Our guiding principle for making decisions will be ensuring public safety.
We hope you are finding joy in the little things. This is not easy, but if we band together as a community, we can certainly overcome this and maybe even come out on the other side shining brighter.
As the situation becomes clearer and as we get closer to the festival and learn more, we will share the information with you as soon as we can.
Sincerely,
Neil Irvine
President Folkfest Board of Directors