Columbus Arts Festival canceled for 2021

Because of continued public health concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Arts Council Board of Trustees voted to cancel this year’s Columbus Arts Festival, according to a release.

Last year, the Arts Council opted to hold a Columbus Arts Fest in Place in place of the in-person event. 

Jami Goldstein, vice president of marketing, communications, and events with the Arts Council, said the Arts Council won’t move forward with a virtual event this year. 

“There’s a little bit of weariness with virtual events,” she said, and people by June will no doubt want to spend their time outdoors. 

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

While a virtual event won’t happen, Goldstein said the Arts Council hasn’t discounted holding something in the fall—dependent on the pandemic—that would keep the spirit of the Arts Festival alive. 

“We’re looking at all the options,” she said. 

“It is a heartbreaking decision to make; however, there is simply too much uncertainty surrounding the pandemic to responsibly host an event of this magnitude in early June,” Tom Katzenmeyer, president and CEO of the Arts Council, said in the release. “We explored every option we could think of and in the end we had to accept that there was no feasible way to make the Columbus Arts Festival happen this year.”

According to the release, the Arts Council plans to hold the 2022 Arts Festival June 10-12 in the Arena District, a move that will allow it to serve artists, patrons, and the community while the Scioto Peninsula undergoes development west of COSI. 

BROUGHT TO YOU BY