The Crawfordsville Strawberry Committee has decided not to attempt a scaled-down version of the festival later this year. The idea was considered at the time of the cancellation of this year’s June festival with hopes that the COVID-19 pandemic would greatly improve by late summer or early fall.
“It was thought at the time that this would be something we could do to help make up for all of the canceled events throughout the summer,” said S. David Long, Strawberry Festival chairman. “At our board meeting, the pros and cons were discussed at length. It was noted that if things continue as is, July 4th will be the ‘opening up’ of many of the restrictions on businesses and events. While the idea of a community event is very attractive, there were concerns on the possible side effects of such an event. COVID-19 has not gone away and although new cases in Montgomery County remain small, they are still occurring. There was also concerns on the results of ‘opening up’ based on the experiences of other states. As other areas have discovered, it is next to impossible to manage large crowds with regard to wearing proper face masks and social distancing. After much discussion, it was felt that it would be best not to needlessly place our festival goers, many of which are children along with those in the older high risk age group, in an uncontrollable environment based on what we know at this time. The safety and well-being of our festival guests is our highest priority.”
The 2021 Crawfordsville Strawberry Festival is scheduled for June 11-13 on the grounds of the Lane Place.
“Our dedicated committee of volunteers will begin our planning process for next year with the goal of bringing back the Crawfordsville Strawberry Festival as it was meant to be,” Long said. “Watch our web and Facebook pages as information is available.”
