ARAB, Ala. – How do you make the difficult decision to cancel a festival? Something that the community embraced and made such a success last year? You do it after much thought, consideration, prayer and logic. You do it with the support of city leaders, law enforcement, emergency management and volunteers. You do it after consulting with other festival and event coordinators across the state and region who are making the same hard decisions. You do it when the health risks of a pandemic far outweigh the enjoyment of a one day event and place the safety of the public and the integrity of the event above all else. That’s when you do it. We love our sponsors, vendors (arts & crafts and food), musicians, runners, pageant participants, classic car owners, shoppers, families, friends and the whole community too much to risk exposing anyone to COVID 19.
“I am sorry that this difficult decision had to be made, but we are certain it is the responsible one and one that I whole heartedly support,” said Arab Mayor Bob Joslin.
“We can’t wait to celebrate with our community and friends next year on Saturday, Sept. 4. SugarFest 2021 is going to be even bigger and better than our 2019 celebration. The momentum that we had built and the events that were already planned for this year were fantastic additions to the festival and will make SugarFest 2021 one that you won’t want to miss. We are disappointed that we have to cancel this year, however we feel that this is the right thing to do.” said Mark Gullion, festival volunteer.
Make sure and monitor social media and the website (www.thesugarfest.com) for updates and information on our vendors and all the events planned for SugarFest 2021. We can’t wait to see you!
“It’s gonna be epic!”
