And there it goes.
I sadly think we all saw this coming, but now it’s official….the annual Iowa Irish Fest, which takes place in downtown Waterloo, has officially been CANCELLED this year.
In a press release from Irish Fest organizers:
Iowa Irish Fest organizers announced today that they will cancel the 2020 Iowa Irish Fest scheduled for July 31-Aug. 2 in downtown Waterloo.
“Yesterday, Gov. Reynolds extended the emergency declaration through July 25, which calls for social distancing,” said Chad Shipman, Iowa Irish Fest director. “This declaration end-date may possibly be extended again — and is too close to our fest start date to allow our committee and our wonderful fans and artists from around the world to properly plan for the festival. Travel restrictions also are still in effect for international travel, and many of our artists come to us from Ireland, Scotland and other restricted countries. Unfortunately, government action related to COVID-19 has forced us to cancel our festival.”
Tickets have solely been sold online this year through the Iowa Irish Fest website. Iowa Irish Fest will be emailing all ticket holders next week with ticket refund information.
“Our fans, partners, vendors, entertainers and volunteers have provided committee members with amazing support as we have had to weigh this go or no-go decision to hold our festival,” said Shipman. “Until yesterday, we were most hopeful we would be able to hold this wonderful community event. The good news during these bad economic times for so many is that our Iowa Irish Fest committee has been fiscally responsible and our fest is financially stable. Thanks to this great financial position, our partners, 80 committee members and hundreds of volunteers, we are ready, steadfast and excited to plan this festival for many years to come. We look forward to our next Iowa Irish Fest, Aug. 6-8, 2021.”
Damn…..we all know 2020 sucks, but this one REALLY sucks.
Maybe next year.
