SALISBURY – Event organizers announced plans this week to postpone the 80th National Folk Festival to 2021.
In a joint statement released Wednesday, Salisbury Mayor Jake Day and National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) Executive Director Lora Bottinelli announced the decision to suspend planning for the 80th National Folk Festival this year and to reschedule the event for Sept. 10-12, 2021.
“As we look ahead into 2020 and the uncertain future that COVID-19 presents, we realize that the community effort required to support an event of the scope of the National Folk Festival should be refocused to the immediate needs of all of our partners and participants, no matter their location during this global crisis,” the statement reads. “The responsible thing to do is suspend planning for the 80th National Folk Festival in 2020, and focus those energies toward community health, safety, well-being, and recovery.”
By suspending event planning for 2020, officials said efforts could be redirected to meet the needs of the region during the global health crisis.
“We feel it is in the community’s best interest to pause our efforts and join others in devoting as many resources as possible toward flattening the curve so that we can return to our normal lives once health officials deem it appropriate to do so,” the statement reads. “It is disappointing to have to reschedule the festival, but it is necessary. We hope all of our supporters understand why we have come to this difficult decision.”
The 80th National Folk Festival was slated to return to downtown Salisbury Sept. 11-13 this year. The festival – a free, outdoor event produced by the NCTA – celebrates arts, culture and heritage through live performances, workshops, demonstrations, children’s activities and more. This 80th National Folk Festival marks the last year of a three-year residency in Salisbury.
In the mayor’s daily coronavirus update briefing Wednesday, Day said uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic impeded the ability to effectively prepare for the festival. He said each event took months of planning, marketing, fundraising and contractual and logistical preparations.
“They aren’t things that can be easily shifted on a timeline, or they can’t easily be compressed into a shorter period of time,” he said. “As you can imagine, the planning that goes into this festival, the execution, is intense.”
Day said the decision to postpone this year’s festival came with the support of the leadership and executive teams.
“We gather together to unite around the bonds of arts and culture, music, and things that allow for humans to enjoy one another in close proximity,” he said. “The day will come again, I assure you, that we will be doing precisely that, it’s just not right now. So we have to be cautious and careful, and that is precisely why we have chosen to postpone.”
Bottinelli, however, urged the community to continue supporting the arts during this time.
“We recognize for some of you that have read the news, this will be more news that illustrates the great need for relief and recovery that will be needed in the arts sector,” she said. “Please remember the arts, the artists and the industries and professions and organizations that make events like these happen in your advocacy efforts.”
Additional details for sponsors, artists, vendors, contractors, and volunteers will be available from the National Folk Festival leadership team in the coming weeks. For more information, visit www.nationalfolkfestival.com.
“I don’t want to miss out on 2020, and I know none of us do,” Day said, “but I’m glad the National is sticking around for another calendar year.”
