Richardson Cancels Spring Cottonwood Art Festival
51st Annual Cottonwood Art Festival's Fall Celebration Still Scheduled for Oct. 3-4, 2020
RICHARDSON, Texas, March 24, 2020 (Newswire.com) - The City of Richardson today announced that the spring celebration of its semiannual Cottonwood Art Festival, scheduled for May 2-3, 2020, has been canceled. The cancellation is designed to protect the public’s health and safety, consistent with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and other public health experts, and also to ensure that City resources can remain fully focused on delivery of critical services throughout the duration of the COVID-19 situation.
The Cottonwood Art Festival is a free, non-ticketed event, so no refunds are required. The fall celebration of the Cottonwood Art Festival, now in its 51st year, is still scheduled to take place as planned over the weekend of Oct. 3-4, 2020.
Festival sponsors and exhibitors were notified today of the City’s cancellation decision.
Any individuals or groups who planned travel or hotel accommodations for the event should contact their travel provider immediately for cancellations and further guidance on refund options.
“After significant deliberations, we felt that we had no other choice but to cancel this event as the only right decision under the circumstances,” said Richardson Mayor Paul Voelker. “It is unfortunate, as the Cottonwood Art Festival has been a major part of our community coming together for decades, but it was necessary to ensure that we are not putting thousands of visitors at risk and that we are remaining fully compliant with the guidance provided by federal, state and county officials. Nevertheless, we are happy to say that the fall celebration of the Cottonwood Art Festival is still planned and that we eagerly and optimistically look forward to seeing everyone gathered together in Cottonwood Park this October.”
Due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic, cities, counties and states across the U.S. have limited or banned large public gatherings, and both Dallas and Collin counties have issued orders prohibiting public gatherings for the immediate future – orders that county officials have already declared are likely to be extended soon, based on the continually evolving pandemic situation. In light of this, many North Texas event organizers have already canceled or postponed events this spring, and others are currently in the process of evaluating or announcing their options.
Additionally, yesterday the Richardson City Council announced a continuation of the Declaration of Disaster for a Local Health Emergency that was first signed by Mayor Voelker on March 18, 2020. The newly amended declaration expanded prohibitions and includes orders for residential sheltering in place as well as the closing of all Richardson business operations not considered to be “essential.” The declaration is effective until April 30, 2020, unless superseded, canceled, modified, amended or terminated earlier by the Mayor and/or the City Council due to changed conditions.
For further information about this event cancellation or to monitor for new information about future City of Richardson festivals and events, please visit www.cor.net/departments/parks-recreation, www.cottonwoodartfestival.com or the social media feeds of the City and the festival.
(All updates related to the coronavirus and its impact on City services and events can be found on the City of Richardson’s COVID-19 news page at www.cor.net/coronavirus.)
MEDIA CONTACT: Greg Sowell, Communications Director, City of Richardson, 972-744-4218 (office), 972-897-2762 (cell), greg.sowell@cor.gov
Source: City of Richardson
