Another popular cultural touchstone event has hit the skids thanks to COVID-19.
The Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce announced the cancelation of the city’s 2020 Art and Wine Festival. Initially set for June 6-7, the festival had been moved to July 25-26 before being canceled Tuesday.
This would have been the 46th year of the festival, which organizers say sees an estimated 150,000 attendees. The announcement comes a week after Santa Clara canceled its Art and Wine festival.
Organizers expressed their disappointment, while acknowledging that COVID-19 made logistics impossible.
“The board of directors simply couldn’t imagine an environment that allowed for safe social-distancing, while providing the traffic needed to produce the event,” said Graham Clark, chairman of the Chamber’s board.
While the group had to cancel the festival, they are turning toward other programs to support their members.
“We are excited about our future as a member organization, and plan to grow our membership and our positive impact in the Sunnyvale economy,” said former board chair Shane Jacksteit.
The Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce is currently under interim leadership after its then-CEO Don Eagleston left suddenly in June. Eagleston was credited with helping grow the festival into a major local attraction.