As we roll into a new month in this coronavirus reality, many more local events and festivals are being postponed or canceled entirely. Two big ones that have just come down the pike are Adams Avenue Unplugged, which features dozens of local and touring artists, and Art Around Adams. The Unplugged event was scheduled to take place on April 25, while Art Around Adams was scheduled for June 6. Organizers for both events made similar statements this week about expecting to return next year.
This is certainly going to be an ongoing theme, as we've seen international events like the Olympics postponed, Wimbledon canceled, and multitudes of sporting and music events in limbo.
“This announcement seemed inevitable for some time -- and redundant, given our common plight -- but we wanted to make it official," officials with the Adams Avenue Business Association posted about Adams Avenue Unplugged on Wednesday. "We hope to see you at Adams Avenue Unplugged 2021.”
Unplugged, which evolved from the Adams Avenue Roots Fest, changed into its “musical walk-about” format a few years back to better highlight local businesses while saving in costs associated with shutting down the entire street, as is done for the Adams Avenue Street Fair, which is still scheduled for September 26-27.
“Due to the pandemic and uncertainty of circumstances for the projected date of Art Around Adams, we have come to the difficult decision of announcing the cancellation of our 2020 event," Art Around Adams and Exodus Studios founder manager Adam Rosen posted about his event. "We encourage your continued patronage of local small businesses, artists and musicians. Order takeout, purchase an art piece, buy that merch!”
Unfortunately, other neighborhood events may be canceled if and when stay-at-home orders are extended and funding dries up, but the good news is that we're seeing just how resilient our communities can be and we're seeing an exciting pivot for events to the digital space. We've never needed the arts more than we do now.
