BSMF ON HOLD UNTIL ’22
Other Memphis in May events still on
Memphis in May has announced the 2021 Beale Street Music Festival will be postponed until 2022.
Memphis in May’s other events — World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and Great American River Run — will go on as planned next year.
The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is set for May 12-15, with strict COVID-19 protocols in place. In a release announcing the news, Memphis in May officials said the event will be “somewhat different and possibly smaller with capacity restrictions that may be in place at that time.”
The Great American River Run is set for Memorial Day weekend, May 29, also with COVID-19 protocols in place. Officials added that “adjustments for the run will include a rolling start to space runners with staggered start times.” Registration for both events is now open.
Meantime, because the live music industry has been frozen since the start of the pandemic and there are no clear plans on how major concerts will move ahead, Beale Street Music Festival has been pushed a year, to May 2022. Ticketholders can defer their tickets to 2022 or request a full refund at Memphis in May’s website.
All Memphis in May events were can
celed in 2020 due to the pandemic.
In a statement, Jim Holt, president and CEO of Memphis in May International Festival, said the organization is “disappointed with the postponement of the Beale Street Music Festival to 2022, but we feel we cannot safely replicate the experience that our fans know and love with the potential COVID-19 restrictions.”
Holt added that, “because of the nature of our other two Tom Lee Park events, we are confident that we can safely present the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and the Great American River Run with adjustments for COVID.”
The planned international Salute to Ghana, which had been slated for 2020 and then was moved to May 2021, has been postponed indefinitely due to pandemic-related restrictions on travel.
“It is our desire to present a salute befitting the great nation of Ghana and share its wonderful culture with Memphians,” said Charles Ewing, Memphis in May International’s Festival Board Chair. “We are aware that a change will be necessary because of the pandemic. We are in communication with Ambassador Adjei-barwuah of Ghana in Washington, D.C., as well as officials at the U.S. Embassy in Accra and a decision on how best to proceed will be made by the Board of Directors in January.”