BUFFALO, N.Y. — Every year at this time organizers of Buffalo's major festivals would be finalizing plans for their events. Now they face decisions as to whether to hold them at all, in the face of COVID-19 and the government mandates prohibiting large gatherings, with no certainty on when they might be lifted.
Following the cancellations of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Dyngus Day events, and the Buffalo Marathon, Buffalo’s venerable Allentown Arts Festival became the latest of the major event to cancel. June 13 and 14 would have marked the 63rd annual Allentown Festival and organizers posted a message on their website on Monday to explain their decision, which they called a “very hard one” to make.
On Tuesday, 2 On Your Side checked the status of several other upcoming festivals and events held annually, and looked forward to every year by thousands of Western New Yorkers.
Greek Festival
The event planned for the weekend of June 5 has been cancelled, with hopes of rescheduling at a later date according to Rev. Dr. Christos B. Christakis of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church which holds the event.
Juneteenth
“We don’t like to use the word cancelled,” said Juneteenth organizer Ras Jomo Akon, although the traditional parade and events at Martin Luther King Jr. Park will not go on.
According to Akono, organizers will attempt to hold a variety of programs online.
“If the people can’t come to the festival this year, we are going to bring the festival to the people,” he said.
For events further down the road, in late June and July, decision day looms.
Ride for Roswell
Organizers of the Ride for Roswell will decide on May 1 whether to stage their 25th anniversary event, which is slated for June 27.
Taste of Buffalo
A decision will be made in mid-May whether the Taste of Buffalo will be held as scheduled on July 11 and 12, according to its chairperson Erin Collins.
“We certainly are hopeful at this point that the festival can go forward and give our local restaurants a much-needed boost,” Collins told WGRZ-TV.
Collins said, however, that if the Taste of Buffalo is cancelled, it will not be postponed until a later date and will resume in 2021.
It appears the further you go out on the calendar, the more you find events still pushing ahead with plans.
Erie County Fair
“The status of the best 12 days of summer are continuing on as planned,” said Jessica Underberg, president and CEO of the Erie County Fair.
“We’re still 129 days out which is still a long way away," she said. "But every day, obviously, we are thinking about what might need to be done and what decisions need to be made."
However, while many organizations have established “drop dead dates" to determine when they must make a decision regarding whether their event will go on as scheduled, Underberg was less eager to do so.
“The problem with that is that we could announce a cancellation on one date, and then find out two days later the restrictions on crowds will be lifted and that we could have had the event,” she said.
Elmwood Arts Festival
The Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts is scheduled to take place on August 29 and 30. According to organizer Joe DiPasquale, as of now it is too early to know if it will take place or not, but plans continue as if it will.
In a Facebook message, DiPasquale wrote that the health and safety of the community is of primary concern, but that cancelling the event would be, “a real disaster for artists and craftspeople and musicians who rely on these events to make a living.”
National Chicken Wing Festival
“As of right now we plan on having our event at Sahlen Field on September 5,” said festival founder Drew Cerza. “But we also know there are a lot of things going on that could change that.”
With five months left before the event, Cerza has the luxury of time before having to make any firm decisions. However, even if by then the coronavirus is a bad memory, there could be lasting impacts from it that could hamper the festival, and the vendors who annually participate.
“Restaurants right now are going through such a challenging time… they don’t know if they’re gonna make it, or if will they be able to participate,” said Cerza.
Cerza added, “On top of that you have sponsors that are closed down right now and have no revenue. Some will have other financial responsibilities which raises the question of whether they will be able to sponsor our wing fest as well.”
Cerza raises another point that the organizers of events who shell out large sums to stage them must ask themselves.
“That’s the question of attendance, and at what point will people be comfortable getting out there in large crowds,” he said.
Other events
Festivals featuring bands and other entertainment are a particularly sticky wicket.
Privately, the organizers of some of those locally tell us they are busy scouring the cancellation clauses in their contracts, hoping to avoid going past any cancellation deadline. Doing so could leave them on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in booking fees.
In addition, they are exploring whether the COVID-19 pandemic would be grounds to cancel and get their money back.
Even rescheduling is tricky, as the longer the ban on crowds exists, the smaller the window for a make up performance becomes.
Beyond that, there is the consideration of whether a performing artist would feel comfortable, based on their personal beliefs, if staging a concert would be socially responsible.
The annual series of concerts at Canalside Buffalo aren’t set to begin until July this year, and as of now none have been canceled according to Paige Gress Marketing Manager & Events Producer for Rich Products which manages Canalside entertainment.
RELATED: 2020 Allentown Art Festival canceled