EDGEWATER — EdgeFest will not take place this year due to the coronavirus, the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce announced.
The annual street festival usually takes over North Broadway in early August. Last year’s EdgeFest saw the crowning of a new neighborhood pet mayor. But with the city not issuing special event permits through Labor Day, the chamber decided to cancel the event rather than try to reschedule it for the fall.
Cancelling EdgeFest, which serves as a fundraiser for the chamber and as a draw for nearby businesses, is “devastating,” chamber officials said in a statement.
“We are broken-hearted by the effects of this crisis and share the disappointment of all those who look forward to participating in our programming every year,” Christina Pfitzinger, the chamber’s executive director, and Kate Piatt-Eckert, said in a joint statement.
EdgeFest 2021 has been scheduled for Aug. 5-6.
Though neighbors might have to wait another year for EdgeFest to return, the chamber is planning late summer activities that would adhere to city protocols on public gathering size, the business group said.
EdgeFest is just the latest summer street festival to be canceled due to the coronavirus. Andersonville’s Midsommarfest and Roger Parks’ 3D Chalk Art Street Fest’s in-person events were both canceled, as were major city festivals like Taste of Chicago and Lollapalooza.
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