FAIRHOPE – The Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival will not take place next weekend, following action by the Fairhope City Council and Arts and Crafts Foundation.
Cities fears of the COVID 19 virus, most council members said they felt the event should not take place.
“It’s an extraordinary situation,” Mayor Karin Wilson said, “something we’ve never faced before.”
Council members said they realized that cancelling the event for the first time in 68 years would have a tremendous impact on the city economy, but they could not support the idea of bringing more than 100,000 people from around the country into Fairhope during the current health situation.
“I don’t want to say that we put money ahead of the health of the population,” Council President Jack Burrell said.
Lang Floyd of the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Foundation said festival representatives will go along with whatever decision made by the City Council.
“If it appears that the council’s position is to go ahead with the safety aspect of cancelling, we are in agreement with that, with a lot of tears,” Floyd said.
He said festival organizers will try to find another date to reschedule the event, but many of the 200 artists who take part in the event will be obligated for other events later in the year. Artists from 35 states had signed up to take part in the festival.
