TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Springtime Tallahassee had great things planned this year but, sadly, they won’t be able to hold the festival.
In March, the annual Springtime Tallahassee had to be rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The leaders of the nonprofit then planned a children's parade for Mother’s Day weekend, however, that had too to be canceled. Then, the group planned "Springtime in the Summer," but, due to the coronavirus, it was canceled again.
Now, Springtime Tallahassee will have to wait until next year.
Marcia Thornberry, the president of Springtime Tallahassee, says on a scale of 1 to 10 the springtime festival is at a 9 for risk of contracting COVID-19.
“We have our community, which is the reason we put this on," said Thornberry. "It's for Tallahassee and it is about our community, our members, and about everyone that attends. Well we’re putting them at risk, we are putting our vendors at risk, we are putting our members at risk, and we can’t do that.”
Thornberry says canceling Springtime in the Summer sooner rather than later is because they wanted the vendors to be able to find another event to participate in.
Organizers say they are sad for the sponsors and vendors who will not get the exposure they deserve.
The festival contributes more than $6 million every year to the city.
“This festival with over 150,000 attendees every year is huge and takes a lot to put together, and our sponsors and our members are what make it happen," said Jennifer Shafer, the executive director. "And our sponsors are extremely valuable. They missed out this year on being able to be promoted throughout the event however we are doing promotions for them through our own channels.”
Shafer says this August they will begin preparing for Springtime 2021. The 2021 festival is set for March 26-27.
