Will Centre County’s biggest summer festivals still go on? Here’s what the organizers said
Organizers for Centre County’s biggest summer festivals — Arts Fest, People’s Choice, Grange Fair — remain hopeful their events will go on as planned as the coronavirus (hopefully) wanes, but cancellations in the future are not out of the question.
Rick Bryant, executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, said a final decision on the 54th edition of the event will come sometime in May. Until then, he’s crossing his fingers that downtown State College will be OK in time for the July 8-12 fest.
“We’re still planning on it,” Bryant told the Centre Daily Times. “We do watch the news, and we’re social distancing just like everyone else. But we’re still hopeful that, by July, we’ll be able to do it. We still have plenty of time to cancel it, too, should the public health situation make that prudent.”
Because of all the festival’s moving parts, such as traveling artists and booking musical acts, rescheduling is not possible. It’s not clear if that’s also the case with the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair (Aug. 21-29) and the People’s Choice Festival of Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts (July 9-12), as neither organizer returned messages seeking comment.
But, on their websites, both festivals addressed the threat of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and acknowledged their plans could change based on how the pandemic changes.
The Grange Fair announced March 19 that, “Should the authorities require any change in scheduling we will proceed accordingly.” And People’s Choice wrote March 24, “Will there be a Festival this summer? We hope so, but we realize that it may become necessary to cancel it for the first time in the Festival’s history.”
Central PA 4th Fest — which culminates in a 9:15 p.m. fireworks show on July 4 — also said March 24 it’s still proceeding as planned. For now.
Nationally, Dr. Anthony Fauci — the country’s top infectious disease expert — offered a glimmer of hope Thursday for such festivals pressing on. He said on “CBS This Morning” that a typical summer “can be in the cards.” But he cautioned that there must also be an aggressive and effective way to identify, isolate and contact-trace to avoid future spikes from positive cases.
Likewise, Mount Nittany Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nirmal Joshi told the CDT on Thursday that he could not accurately look that far ahead. When asked whether he had any advice for festival organizers, Joshi simply replied, “I wish I did,” before emphasizing the importance of social-distancing now to flatten the curve later.
Each festival is steeped in varying levels of tradition. People’s Choice started in 1993, Arts Fest in 1967 and the Grange Fair in 1874, suffering its biggest hiccup in 1943 when the gathering was limited to one day due to gasoline rationing during World War II.
All organizers hope those traditions continue in 2020. But, based on interviews and statements, the festivals will continue only if experts deem it safe.
“We won’t have it unless the public health authorities think it’s safe to do,” Bryant said, referring to Arts Fest. “We’re not going to put anybody’s life in danger.”
