Winnipeg Folk Festival Cancels 2020 Edition

The 47th annual event was to feature Tegan and Sara, Vance Joy, Kurt Vile and the late John Prine

BY Brock ThiessenPublished Apr 14, 2020

The Winnipeg Folk Festival has cancelled its 2020 event due to the coronavirus pandemic. The organizers made the announcement today, revealing the 47th edition of the festival will no longer take place from July 9 to 12 at Birds Hill Provincial Park.

As previously reported, the Winnipeg fest was to include the likes of Tegan and Sara, Vance Joy, Tash Sultana, Kurt Vile, Sharon Van Etten and the late John Prine.

Alongside the cancellation announcement, the festival issued the following statement:

Dear Winnipeg Folk Fest Friends,

We're absolutely heartbroken to announce that due to the COVID-19 situation, we've made the difficult decision to cancel the 47th edition of the Winnipeg Folk Festival scheduled for July 9 to 12, 2020.

We care about you and your health, first and foremost, and we cannot plan and deliver the Winnipeg Folk Fest you expect while ensuring everyone's safety in the difficult current conditions.

Although we will not be able to reunite at Birds Hill Provincial Park this year, we look forward to seeing you and being together again in July 2021.
 
Please hold on to your cherished memories of past Folk Fests and know you will create new ones when we're able to do it safely — singing along to our favourite tunes with friends and family, dancing under the warm sun and seeing a crowd of smiling faces.
 
If you already purchased a ticket for this year's edition, full refunds will be made available, however we hope you consider donating your ticket as a tax-deductible contribution to the Winnipeg Folk Fest during these uncertain times.
 
You may have heard that arts organizations are being devastated by this crisis — the Folk Festival is no exception. While there won't be a festival this year, your help is still critical. If you are able, we invite you to please make a gift.
 
More information regarding donations and refunds will be announced shortly. All ticket holders will also receive an email with more instructions on how to proceed to obtain a refund or make a donation. If you have any questions, please reach out to us by email at info@winnipegfolkfestival.ca.
 
We know these are challenging times, but our community is resilient and through moments of sorrow or joy, music is always there to connect us, help us and heal us.
 
Thank you — audience members, volunteers, donors, sponsors, suppliers and artists. Thank you for your love and support. We love you too. And, we need you. There is no Folk Fest without you.
 
We look forward to seeing you in July 2021.
 
Stay safe and take good care of yourself and each other.

Together, we will get through this.
Together, we will be stronger.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival Team


You can follow Exclaim!'s list of Canadian music and film events affected by coronavirus.
 

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