**** Info via Festival
Dear friends,
We are heartbroken to announce that we have made the difficult decision to cancel the 24th edition of the Stan Rogers Folk Festival, scheduled for July 23 to 26, 2020.
The following were the basis for our decision:
1. There is a very high likelihood that the isolation measures will stretch into June and beyond.
2. We believe that the federal and or provincial authorities will mandate that large summer events cancel. It just isn’t practical to expect we will get from total isolation in our homes to a gathering of several thousand festival goers this summer.
3. Even if isolation measures lift, it is very likely that the public will be reluctant to gather in large crowds.
4. Our situation is compounded by the camping nature of the festival. We have several thousand who live on-site in campgrounds for the weekend. We provide washrooms and showers, but do not feel we can meet the public expectation for disinfection and hygiene.
We are confident our funders, sponsors, artists, volunteers and patrons will support this decision and will be on board for an epic 25th Anniversary festival in 2021. We will be celebrating the incredible success of the festival and bringing back many of your favourite artists.
Turning this page will also allow us to begin to plan other ways to bring the music to the community we have built over these 24 years. We are already working on an online concert plan, and a community gathering once it is feasible for us to be together in person again.
Our promise to you is that we will keep you updated.
If you have already purchased a ticket for this year’s festival, refunds will be made available. We also ask that you consider deferring or donating your ticket. For more information on each of these options, please visit stanfest.com/covid-19.
We look forward to seeing you all in 2021.
Troy, Chris, Wanda, Isabel and the Board of the Chedabucto Bay Folk Society.
