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Orangeville’s popular Blues & Jazz festival postponed due to COVID-19

April 3, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Baker

The show must not go on, say the organizers of one of Orangeville’s premier tourist events. 

In response to the “unprecedented” COVID-19 pandemic situation, the board of directors for the Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival made the difficult decision this week to postpone the 18th annual musical extravaganza, originally slated to take place from June 5 to June 7. 

“Clearly, the current health considerations and financial challenges as a result of the COVID-19 situation have made the producing of a Festival of our size a major challenge,” a release distributed to media on Sunday (March 22) reads. “The planning of our Festival normally takes many months and at this point, it is considered a prudent course of action to postpone this year’s Festival until further notice.”

Launched back in 2003, the Blues and Jazz Festival regularly draws out tens of thousands of people to downtown Orangeville, with various restaurants, roads and parks along the town’s main strip transformed into a hub for award-winning blues music. The brainchild of local musician, and businessman, Larry Kurtz, the event has been one of the municipalities main economic drivers in recent years, bringing significant business to downtown businesses. 

Last year, more than 30,000 people attended the three-day Blues and Jazz Festival, with around  100 musical acts performing across town.

While the intentions of the event’s board of directors has not been made clear at this time, it is assumed that the hope at this point, by announcing a postponement rather than a cancellation, is for the annual festival to take place a little later in the summer. While not ideal, it is a harsh reality brought to life by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. 

“Our foremost priority has always been, and will continue to be, the health and safety of all our participants, including our Festival attendees, performers and volunteers,” organizers say. “Please be safe and healthy as we move forward and work together as a community through these challenging times.”

In conclusion, “We look forward to sharing our plans for the next Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival as soon as possible.”

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