The Walnut Valley Festival will not happen this year. Officials at Walnut Valley Association (WVA) are postponing it until September 2021.
The festival which is usually held the third weekend of September in Winfield draws crowds of 10,000 to 15,000 people from around the world. It’s a celebration of acoustic music, including bluegrass, folk, Americana, a little bit of cowboy, some Celtic, blues, jazz and swing, and more.
This year, with the coronavirus pandemic, WVA says it has been monitoring the health recommendations for social distancing and mass gatherings. It says it made the decision to postpone the festival after communicating with local public health and city officials.
“In considering the wisdom of bringing so many people together from all over the world to a small Kansas community, mixing them well, and then returning them home, we find it difficult to imagine how we might do that in a responsible way that sees everyone safely returning to their homes with the prospect of attending the NEXT Walnut Valley Festival,” said Bart Redford, WVA executive director, in a statement.
WVA has plans for virtual concerts and events for September, 2020. Donations will go to support performers and others who are suffering from the effects of the pandemic.
“We have reached out to artists, because they have been most affected by this pandemic, and have arguably the least amount of access to government aid,” said Redford. “But I am hopeful that the plans we are making for providing a virtual festival, which we have tentatively dubbed WVF 48.5, will provide some much-needed relief to our performers and others.”
People who already purchased tickets for the 49th Walnut Valley Festival can use them for the 2021 festival. WVA will contact patrons, vendors and workers.
