Richmond Folk Festival canceled this October

The Richmond Folk Festival, which often draws hundreds of thousands of music fans to the capital in the second weekend of October, will be canceled due to COVID-19 this fall, Venture Richmond announced Tuesday.

Also canceled is Richmond’s 2nd Street Festival, another cultural food and music event held downtown the first weekend of October.

“For the safety of our patrons, volunteers, artists and staff due to the unpredictable and ongoing threat posed by the spread of COVID-19, and in accordance with our government officials’ phased approach to group gatherings, we have made the very difficult decision to cancel the 2020 2nd Street Festival and Richmond Folk Festival,” organizer Venture Richmond announced in a statement. “We have not reached this decision easily. However, we do not believe it is responsible or in the best interest of our community to bring together tens and even hundreds of thousands of individuals in very close proximity, with no ability to control attendee numbers, distancing or to sufficiently enforce precautions.”

The two free festivals will take place the first and second weekends of October 2021, and Venture Richmond said in its statement that both events will be celebrated virtually with online music performances and other activities.

Subscribe to Virginia Business.

Get our daily e-newsletter.