SALEM, Va. – The fate of major summer events are in the hands of the coronavirus.
Organizers are having to make tough decisions to either postpone or cancel them altogether.
One such example is the Salem Fair, which the city canceled on Monday.
It’s just one of many among summer events that have already been canceled or postponed, and likely won’t be the last.
Summer 2020 won’t be the same as the past
Family favorites like the Salem Fair in July and the Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax in August will not happen because of the coronavirus.
Jones “It’s disappointing to everyone,” said Tom Jones, the publicity chairman for the Old Fiddlers’ Convention.
Salem Civic Center Facilities Director Wendy Delano and Jones said coordinating these week-long events, which attract thousands of people, take months to plan so postponing wasn’t possible.
They don’t know what the health guidelines will be later this summer, or if people will feel comfortable going out in a crowd, so they did what they thought was best.
“This would have been our 85th annual Old Fiddlers’ Convention," said Jones. “Of course we could have been shut down at the last minute.”
“It’s not only difficult for the emotional ties to it, but the financial ties to it,” said Delano. “All in all, we did what we needed to to keep everyone safe.”
Catherine Fox with Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge understands event coordinators are in a tough spot but she’s hoping others will postpone rather than cancel because those missed events mean missed income that won’t be coming into the region.
“Because it’s not just an overnight, it’s people who are going into our retail stores, they are going into our restaurants and they are doing so many more things while they are here. So that’s the piece that is so concerning to us,” said Fox.
Another event that has been canceled is the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival at Ferrum College, which was scheduled for the end of October.
On Monday, the 30th Local Colors Festival, which takes place in Roanoke, was bumped from 2020, back to 2021.
Despite this year’s disappointing decisions, event organizers are now turning their attention to next year.
“It’s a long time off, but you know, we’ll make it. We’ll be ready and hopefully it will be bigger and better,” said Jones.
One big event that has yet to announce a decision to postpone, cancel or go on as scheduled is FloydFest.
Organizers told 10 News they will be making an announcement on Thursday at noon.