Dogwood Festival canceled
The Dogwood Festival, scheduled for Aug. 28, 29 and 30, is canceled, the Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce announced on Tuesday.
The Dogwood Festival was originally supposed to take place on April 24, 25 and 26, according Arthur Hulbert, Chamber president and CEO. The festival was first moved to May 29, 30 and 31 because of the coronavirus pandemic, but was then rescheduled to August, he said.
“We were hoping that the hot weather would have killed the virus,” Hulbert said.
Hulbert said the current directives state any gathering of more than 100 people requires approval from the Arkansas Department of Health. Hulbert spoke with the health department and with Fire Marshal Dustin Kindell in order to see what was needed to put on the festival.
The regulations and social distancing requirements proved too difficult for the chamber and the Dogwood Festival Committee to meet, Hulbert said. The most challenging aspect would have been building a perimeter around the area where the Dogwood Festival would have taken place, he said.
Social distancing requirements would limit the number of vendors, exhibits and customers, Hulbert said. Kindell helped to determine square footage and maximum capacity, but monitoring the capacity would have proved too difficult without a fence, Hulbert said. Hulbert estimated it would have taken four miles of rope and significant perimeter monitoring, which would have been difficult.
Department of Health personnel told Hulbert that the Dogwood Festival would have to have a defined perimeter made of ropes and barricades with three entry and exit points, Hulbert said. The need for a perimeter made the current layout of the Dogwood Festival prohibitive as it would be difficult to keep people from jumping or climbing over the rope, he said.
“The Dogwood Committee and chamber board made a hard decision, but in my opinion was the right decision in choosing safety,” Hulbert said.
Hulbert said the collective opinion is that it is highly unlikely the state will open to Phase Three by the time of the Dogwood Festival. Notifying sponsors and vendors in a timely fashion was another reason the chamber and Dogwood Committee chose to cancel the Dogwood Festival now instead of waiting to see what would happen, he said.
Presently, Hulbert is looking at the possibility of having the Dogwood Festival in April of 2021.
“Hopefully, we will be in Phase Three and we can have Dogwood as usual,” Hulbert said.
Hulbert said he is incredibly thankful to the community for support as well as the volunteers and committee members and looks forward to a great festival next year.