FORT SMITH, Ark. — The Fort Smith Riverfront Blues Festival scheduled for this summer has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead of postponing it to a later date, the Board of Directors made the decision to cancel because "sponsors and fans have had an unusually eventful year."
Festival coordinator Bob Marsh says they canceled this year because they didn't feel it would be fair to put the pressure on sponsors who during this time may be strapped themselves.
He also said they decided not to go ahead with it this year because didn't think or know if people would be comfortable being that close to each other even if things open back up.
The festival was originally scheduled for June 19 and 20, 2020.
"Hopefully we can all take the time until next year to regroup and redouble our efforts to make the festival an event we can all be proud of," the board said in a statement.
Board Directors said they will try to have the Blues James and other music later in the year. They will continue to update their website and Facebook page with the latest information.
"We wish to thank all of our friends, fans, sponsors, bands, and supporters from this year and years past for their faithful support of our festival, with an especial thanks to The City of Fort Smith and the Fort Smith Parks and Recreation Department," they said.
Marsh said they are trying to schedule the same acts for 2021 that they had planned for 2020.
Marsh says they also had to reschedule it last year after the River Front flooded and was unusable
He said they were paying attention to what the coronavirus would mean for the festival long before things were shut down.
Staff with the Peacemaker Music Festival released the following statement on their website about the festival scheduled for July 24 and 25:
"Hey Peacemaker's, we understand your questions regarding COVID-19, and believe it is too soon for us to begin thinking about moving the date of the Peacemaker Festival. In the coming weeks and months those decisions will be made. In the event there is a decision to cancel or move the date of the festival, we will update this statement as soon as we make that decision. Let's all take a break and do our best to social distance so we can "flatten the curve" and get back to listening to live music!"