Last week, the Clarion Chamber Board made the difficult decision to cancel Clarion’s largest annual city-sponsored event, Festival in the Park. The festival is held each year in mid-June. This move has followed many other Iowa communities and organizations cancelling or indefinitely postponing events due to concerns regarding COVID-19 and social distancing guidelines.
Historically, Clarion’s Festival in the Park has been celebrated since the early 80’s. For a couple years before that, the town hosted an event called the “Day of Music” that featured several hours of musical acts and even an old-fashioned box social during its 1979 inaugural year. In 1981, Clarion formally transitioned into Festival in the Park. The event featured many of the same attractions that still are enjoyed presently, including a parade, various musical talents, arts and crafts vendors, and a 5K run.
Almost 40 years later, due to circumstances beyond the town’s control, the Chamber made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 festival. Before making this move, Chamber Director Ali Disney explained that she consulted the Chamber Board for their opinions. Most agreed that it was best to cancel it this year out of an abundance of caution. Disney added that they also took into consideration what other groups around the state were doing. She said that other towns had already canceled summer events into July.
Clarion City Administrator Clint Middleton supported the Chamber’s move to cancel. He pointed out that we just don’t know where we’ll be in a month and a half, given recommendations for social distancing. With Iowa’s COVID-19 cases still on the upswing, whether or not the state will be fully “open for business” in mid-June remains to be seen. Middleton also pointed out, “Even if things are back up and running, we’ll probably still be restricted in some ways.” Disney agrees, saying, “We don’t know if people will want to hang out in big crowds that soon.”
They were also concerned about planning the event in a timely fashion. Disney emphasized, “It takes months to plan the festival. And if we’re not sure if we can have it and try to push back the planning, that will be problematic later. We don’t want it done poorly.” Both Disney and Middleton also expressed concern about stressing vendors and participating businesses as well. During a time when many businesses are experiencing their own hardships, asking them to spend money on a future event that may not happen is a tough ask.
Mayor Duane Asbe concurred with the Chamber’s decision. As a long-time Clarion resident, he noted that he doesn’t remember a time since the early 80’s when the festival has not been held. But he still supports cancelling it this year. “We want to be respectful of our citizens and err on the conservative side. Safety comes first,” he confirmed.
The wisdom of cancelling Festival in the Park was reaffirmed when late Monday evening, it was also announced that the Iowa’s Ride bike ride would be cancelled. Iowa’s Ride was set to come through Clarion as a night stop-over in mid-July. TJ Juskiewicz, the director of the group, said about the decision, "We tried to hold out as long as possible in hopes that the world would begin healing. We also know the reality that the clock was ticking to lock in many requirements to host the ride including insurance, permits and licenses." This move comes a couple weeks after RAGBRAI also made the decision to cancel their ride.
Whether or not the planned summer events are held this year, Disney remains hopeful of better times to come for Clarion. She even teased the idea of a town gathering later in the summer or fall if things are deemed safe. “Eventually, we’ll all need something to bring us together,” she stressed, “And when that happens, we hope to have a fun event that people can look forward to.”
