Vancouver Folk Music Festival cancels plans for 2021 event due to pandemic uncertainty
The event, which normally draws tens of thousands, was also forced to abandon last year’s celebrations
The Vancouver Folk Music Festival during non-socially-distanced times. Photo courtesy VFMF
THE PANDEMIC HAS taken a toll on one of the city’s most popular summer events. The Vancouver Folk Music Festival has just announced that it is cancelling its 2021 event, which was to have taken place July 16 to 18 by Jericho Beach.
“The traditional festival experience that we all know and love does not seem feasible given the current conditions,” the statement released via social media said today.
The organization blamed ongoing uncertainty about the pandemic restrictions and immunization timelines.
Other than last year, during the first summer of pandemic shutdowns, the festival has operated since 1978. Its first event took place in 1978 in Stanley Park, and it relocated to Jericho Beach Park in its second year.
A second cancellation could be devastating for the organization. When it decided against going forward last year, it posted a message on its website saying, “We are very grateful to our federal, provincial, and municipal funders, and our other stakeholders for indicating that we’re all in this together and they are willing to work with us to get through this. We are confident we can weather this storm and return in full force in 2021.” It set up a Canada Helps page to take donations around that time. Little could organizers have known the uncertainty that would await a year later—even for a music event that’s held outdoors.
The fest is one of the larger summer events in the city, drawing crowds of more than 30,000 to see over 40 international, national, and local acts.
None of Vancouver’s other summer festivals have yet announced cancellations for 2021.
You can read the full statement from the Vancouver Folk Music Festival today below.
Dear Festival Friends,
We wanted to let you know that after countless deliberation, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Vancouver Folk Music Festival, July 16 to 18, 2021.
At this time, the traditional festival experience that we all know and love does not seem feasible given the current conditions, immunization timelines, and the overall uncertainty of what may be possible as vaccines continue to rollout to the public at large. The safety of our community, staff, contractors, artists, volunteers, vendors, sponsors, suppliers, patrons and festival supporters continues to be of utmost importance.
Staff and Board continue to follow the communications of Provincial Public Health Authorities and given Covid-19 uncertainties regarding public gatherings, we await clarity on what we can safely present in line with the evolving restrictions. We continue to focus our efforts on planning an "At Home" experience (virtually and hopefully with some small audiences). We look forward to sharing more details with all of you in the upcoming months.
If you are a ticket-buyer, we have made the decision to offer refunds for your 2020 tickets. If you are able, we ask that you consider donating the cost of your ticket, in exchange for a charitable tax receipt. We will be contacting ticket buyers directly via email with full details this week. Please do not call the office, as we are primarily working remotely at this time.
We ask for your patience as it may take some time to respond to any questions or requests received.
Thank you to all of our patrons, artists, volunteers, donors, sponsors, vendors, suppliers, and the community at large. We continue to get through these challenging times, in great part thanks to YOU and your continuing care and support.
Stay safe, healthy and continue to be kind to one another.
The Board and Staff of Vancouver Folk Music Festival
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