Jo Ward
jward@observertoday.com
The Red, White and Blues festival has been canceled completely for 2020.
According to Larry Fiorella, Festivals Fredonia chairman, the costs just outweigh the return.
“Sorry about the flip-flop blues fans, but unfortunately the board and committee came to the difficult decision to “push pause” for this year’s festival,” the group said on its Facebook page. “For our little non-profit organization, the costs outweighed the benefits. The mission of Festivals Fredonia, through Red, White & Blues, is to drive foot traffic to and through the community through interesting and fun programming. The virtual festival concept is simply not mission-focused enough.”
Fiorella did share with the OBSERVER that next year is a big year for the festival, marking 25 years.
“It’s also the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and both will be on the same weekend, so we really want to make it something special,” Fiorella said. “We’re hoping to make a huge festival next year.”
Festivals Fredonia is still looking to make something of this year’s cancellation by offering special tee shirts and facemasks on its website for purchase.