Boulder Creek Festival will wait till summer

The second traditional pillar of Boulder’s Memorial Day weekend celebrations became a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic Friday with the announcement that the three-day Boulder Creek Festival is being postponed by 10 weeks.

Originally slated for May 23-25, the creek fest will now be held July 31 through Aug. 2.

The event typically draws about 100,000 to 150,000 people to the city’s downtown core, also attracting scores of vendors from across the Front Range and beyond.

Friday’s decision by the festival production team came after the March 16 announcement that the 42nd running of the Bolder Boulder 10K road race, traditionally held on Memorial Day, will take place instead on Labor Day this year.

“Our top priority is the health and safety of guests, volunteers, community partners, vendors and staff,” Jason Ornstein, owner of Team Player Productions, Boulder’s partner in producing the creek festival, said in a news release. “We want to give the community a chance to recover, and when we’re ready, we will celebrate with a big summer event.”

In choosing the new dates for the festival, several factors were considered, Ornstein said, including a date later in the summer that would allow the community to feel safe and provide businesses and partners a “strong weekend to shine.” The event will remain a threeday affair with a kickoff on Friday afternoon. — Charlie Brennan, Daily Camera