{"id":2457103,"date":"2020-04-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=324271"},"modified":"2020-04-13T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-13T06:00:00","slug":"deadlines-key-decision-to-cancel-strawberry-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/deadlines-key-decision-to-cancel-strawberry-days\/","title":{"rendered":"Deadlines key decision to cancel Strawberry Days"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"712\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/Festivals-gpi-041320-1024x712.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/Festivals-gpi-041320-1024x712.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/Festivals-gpi-041320-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/Festivals-gpi-041320-768x534.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/Festivals-gpi-041320.jpg 1292w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Park goers enjoy free strawberries and ice cream at the park after the 2019 Strawberry Days Parade. The 123rd annual Strawberry Days Festival was canceled for 2020.<\/strong><br \/><em>Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A decision to cancel this year\u2019s Strawberry Days, though still more than two months out, was less about what might come mid-June and more about what normally needs to be done now to prepare, according to festival organizers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Several key decision points were looming in the next couple of weeks, sponsors needed to be secured and event promotion typically begins by early May, said Angie Anderson, president and CEO for the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe also have a number of contractors we work with for things like portable toilets, fencing, the stage \u2026 all of that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Given the uncertainty around the extent of public health restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic come June 18 to 21, when the annual Glenwood Springs festival was slated, it was the consensus of the chamber board and other stakeholders involved in the discussions to go ahead and cancel, she said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/at-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere are so many moving parts, especially when you take into the consideration what needs to happen to line up our vendors,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cA lot them come from out of town, and need to be able to plan accordingly for the entire summer. To wait and maybe have to pull the plug at the last minute is just not feasible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Some of the usual vendors had already advised that they wouldn\u2019t be coming this year, due to spring events being canceled and not having travel funds for the summer slate, Anderson said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cFood vendors also depend on a certain amount of sales to make an event worthwhile for them to participate,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd, even if we were allowed to have it, we just weren\u2019t sure if people would be ready to gather in crowds that large.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The chamber formally announced in a news release late Friday that Strawberry Days would be canceled this year, for just the sixth time in its 123-year history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThese are truly challenging and unprecedented times, and this decision was not made lightly,\u201d Anderson said in the release. \u201cWe know how much this annual festival means to locals, visitors and vendors who attend; however, our priority is the health and safety of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">According to the Glenwood Springs Historical Society, World War II was the only other world event to cause the cancellation of Strawberry Days, from 1942 to 1946 \u2014 although the official reason given in 1942 was \u201cdue to a shortage of ice cream and cake and the inability to obtain good entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While Strawberry Days won\u2019t happen this year, Anderson said there is the possibility of a different celebration later in the year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe hope to do something in late summer or early fall where we can bring the community together and help out our businesses,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Strawberry Days is just the latest among the Roaring Fork Valley\u2019s summer festivals to be canceled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic that shut down Colorado ski resorts early and has resulted in other mandated business closures and strict limits on public gatherings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Aspen already canceled two of its signature June events, the Aspen Food &amp; Wine Classic and Aspen Ideas Fest. Other events have been postponed until later in the summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Carbondale also canceled all special events that had been scheduled in May, including the Festival las Americas and Dandelion Day, as well as the First Friday school arts showcase.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">At this point, though, the July 24 to 26 Carbondale Mountain Fair is a go.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe are moving forward with Mountain Fair and believe there will be a 49th-year fair,\u201d Amy Kimberly, Carbondale Arts and Fair director, said in response to an email query last week. \u201cWe do think it might be a quieter fair, but who knows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As for Strawberry Days, Anderson said another consideration was that the city of Glenwood Springs is currently holding off on issuing park permits for events.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe preferred to make a proactive decision rather than scrambling,\u201d she said. \u201cWe felt it wise to put our efforts towards next year\u2019s event rather than to continue forward planning for this June with so many unknowns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Cancellation of the festival also means that numerous associated events will not be happening in conjunction, including the Miss Strawberry Days scholarship contest, the Strawberry Shortcut foot race, the Kiwanis Club ball race fundraiser and the Rotary Club pancake breakfast.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/deadlines-key-decision-to-cancel-strawberry-days\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Park goers enjoy free strawberries and ice cream at the park after the 2019 Strawberry Days Parade. The 123rd annual Strawberry Days Festival was canceled for 2020.Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent A decision to cancel this year\u2019s Strawberry Days, though still more than two months out, was less about what might come mid-June and more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 04:43:32","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457103\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}