Arizona Renaissance Festival canceled because of COVID-19 pandemic
Dec 11, 2020, 1:00 PM | Updated: 8:32 pm
(Arizona Renaissance Festival Facebook Photo)
(Arizona Renaissance Festival Facebook Photo)
PHOENIX — The 33rd installment of the Arizona Renaissance Festival has been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a press release.
Event organizers on Wednesday said their decision stemmed from the rapid rise in coronavirus cases in the state and the inability to hold such an event safely.
“Due to increasing health and safety concerns related to COVID-19, winter in the southwest will come and go without the time traveling celebration of the annual Arizona Renaissance Festival,” the release says.
Pinal County had previously approved festival organizer’s plan to hold the event, which is located east of Apache Junction along U.S. 60, with limited capacity.
Organizers believed the risks associated with holding a large gathering outweighed any benefits, however, according to festival producer Jeffrey Siegel.
“For the health and safety of our participants, for our guests, and for everyone’s families and the communities all arrive from, we look to be part of the virus mitigation solution,” Siegel said in the release.
“We are saddened this decision may result in further hardship for our valued
Renaissance Festival community of artists.”
The medieval-themed festival has become a mainstay for many in the Valley and beyond, featuring 14 stages and a village setting.
Siegel plans to bring the festival back in February 2022.
“We will be back. The festival village gates will open again. Our patrons and participants are counting on it,” Siegel said in the release.
