The Hiawatha Music Co-op Board of Directors have made an unprecedented decision to cancel their 42nd Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival scheduled for July 17-19, 2020 due to the unexpected and unprecedented national COVID-19 pandemic.
The Board held video meetings over the past month to review state and national stay-at-home mandates, local closures, including the Festival site of Tourist Park, re-opening projections, public safety measures and financial considerations. Given the uncertainty of the projections and the timeline of Festival preparations, the Board made the difficult decision to cancel.
According to Executive Director, Susan Divine, “This is the first Hiawatha Festival to be cancelled in our 42-year history. We have had some weather-related potential cancellations, but for the most part, the show still went on. But this type of cancellation is unprecedented.
Our hearts go out to all the musicians and performers who are experiencing the loss of income as well as the Festival vendors, suppliers and support people. The Board will be meeting again this month to make some preliminary plans for music events for the remainder of the year. We hope to be up and running events as soon as the legal mandates and social proximity restrictions are lifted.”
The Hiawatha Board encourages folks to stay tuned to the Hiawatha and all performer social media and websites to listen to and watch live performances. Updated information on future Hiawatha events can be found on their website www.hiawathamusic.org
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