Dogwood Festival Postponed, New Date Not Yet Determined
The 2020 Spring Dogwood Festival has been postponed, according to a release issued on Facebook by the organization. The festival had been schedule for April 23-26 in Festival Park and Downtown Fayetteville.
The festival was scheduled to bring multiple nationally-known acts for concerts, as well as multiple days of carnival midway, arts and crafts vendors, food, and more entertainment. Country artist Dylan Scott, hip hop artists Murphy Lee, Nice & Smooth and Brand Nubian, rock artists Lit and Marcy Playground, and Purple Madness, a Prince tribute band, were all scheduled to perform at this year’s event.
Statement from the Festival:
COVID-19 Virus Response; The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Postponed, Date TBD
March 16, 2020
Dear Friends of The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival,
The Dogwood Festival is a tradition begun almost 40 years ago as a way to unite our entire community and celebrate. We are finally at a point where we must put the consideration of the health of our community over the tradition of the festival. We do not take this likely but we must announce that we will be postponing our festival until further notice. Although we do not have an exact day for the postponement, we are working closely with our city to give us the opportunity to still host a 2020 festival.
Just like the rest of the nation, we have been watching the COVID-19 virus situation develop as it creeps into our schools, our small businesses, our hospitals, and our lives. This is not a decision that was made lightly, as our board of directors and staff agonized over delaying our community’s biggest festival. We have been in direct contact with our city and county leadership. And with their guidance, we know that postponing the festival is the best decision we can make, although it is the hardest decision we have ever had to make.
We know that there will be lots of questions after we post this announcement. There are some questions that we cannot answer. We would appreciate you giving us the time and opportunity to find out where we go from here. We are a staff of three and a group of volunteers who run a non-profit organization that only survives from generous donations from sponsors and fees paid into the festival. Some of the answers will just be “wait and see.” But in the meantime, as we reach out to everyone that has a stake in our festival, bear with us and we will contact you as soon as we can and as soon as we have answers to share. Just know that we will do our best to make the situation right for everyone involved.
Fayetteville is our home. We are longtime residents as well as long time volunteers of the festival. We love our town. Nothing would make us happier than our town making a full recovery and putting on our festival again. We have continued faith that this will happen and we know that our city supports us.
In the meantime, don’t forget to check on your neighbors. Be kind when you’re getting your groceries in the grocery store. Wash your hands. We hope that your families stay healthy and we will be working on keeping our families healthy too. Much love to you, Fayetteville. Please be well.
The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival
