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UPDATE: Children's Festival cancelled amidst COVID-19 concerns

Childrens-FestivalCancelledWeb
As uncertainty around the novel coronavirus persists, the Airdrie Children's Festival has been cancelled. File Photo/Airdrie City View

Editor's note: Updates throughout include comments from ACF.

The 2020 iteration of the Airdrie Children's Festival (ACF) has been cancelled.

"Being 10 weeks out from the festival and the ever evolving [sic] global pandemic, COVID-19, the ACF Board has made the gut-wrenching decision that none of us wanted to make," a March 23 post to the event's Facebook page stated.

This year would have marked the festival's third year, with the event originally scheduled for May 30 and 31.

According to board member Tara Levick, cancelling the event was a tough decision and tears were shed at the meeting where the decision was reached.

“We obviously didn’t come to the decision lightly,” Levick said. “Being only 10-weeks out, it’s the logical choice at this point.”

Levick said the main fundraiser for the festival, Comedy at the Bert – which was originally scheduled for March 28 – was also cancelled as a result of the global pandemic. The comedy show funds approximately one-third of the festival, without it, she said, it would be unfeasible to proceed with the event.

Further, with gatherings in Alberta currently restricted to 15 people, it would have been unclear how the festival could have proceeded. According to Levick, across the two days, 6,000 people attended the event last year. Without knowing when gathering restrictions will be lifted, there was simply no way to predict when a gathering of that size would be allowed, she said.

The board considered holding a virtual festival with online workshops, but ultimately felt that hands-on learning and in-person interaction was crucial to the festival’s goals.

“Our purpose and passion is to enrich the lives of children in our community, and celebrate overcoming a fear or an obstacle or a new learning,” Levick said. “That will continue to be our purpose going forward.”

Despite the cancellation, Levick doesn’t feel the relatively new event is losing momentum.

“Everyone from the volunteers to sponsors we had already confirmed to performers, they already are talking about 2021 and rolling over deposits,” she said. “Airdrie’s an amazing community, and I think everyone knows this is pretty great for it and they want to see it continue in 2021.”

According to the Facebook post, the board is already looking ahead to 2021, at which time the festival will be "back better than ever."

“Having more than a year to plan is something we’ve never had before, so we’re really excited about what all of this planning could mean for the festival,” she said.

Follow our COVID-19 special section for the latest local and national COVID-19 news, resources, FAQs and more.

Ben Sherick, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @BenSherick

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