This just in my inbox from Alice Moulton at the Winter Park Sidewalk Arts Festival:
This is a very hard email to send to you, but I must let you know that the 61st Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival has been cancelled. Could you help us get the word out to the art festival community. With much regret, we have notified the participating artists through ZAPP.
Thank you for all that you do. Alice
“Due to current information regarding the potential spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), and events beyond our control, the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival (WPSAF), scheduled for Friday, March 20, through Sunday, March 22, 2020, will be cancelled. The City of Winter Park and the WPSAF Committee decided together that the health and safety of the community, guests, event patrons, artists and staff are the very top priority. Thank you for understanding our concerns.
For the most up-to-date and accurate information regarding COVID-19, please visit the Center for Disease Control at cdc.gov/COVID19. For information related to WPSAF, please visit WPSAF.org.”
This is so sad -- when you think of all 365 days of devotion to produce a top art fair by this non-profit organization, totally volunteer-driven, plus the inability to recoup their expenses, the loss is pretty devastating and the recovery will take some time.
And, of course, the loss to artists who were relying on the show for their income and so disappointing for them not to be there to meet the buyers. It is one of those shows that an artist looks forward to all year.
Have any of your shows been cancelled? What are you going about it?
