3 MORE FESTIVALS PULLING THE PLUG

The Celtic Fest is among gatherings sidelined by COVID-19.

Three more Dayton-area festivals have canceled their 2020 events altogether: the Dayton Celtic Festival, the Fleurs de Fete wine festival and Taco Fiesta.

United Irish of Dayton pulled the plug on the 2020 Celtic Festival

in a statement posted Thursday night on the event’s Facebook page and official website. The event was scheduled to occur July 24-26 at RiverScape MetroPark.

The next Celtic Festival will be held July 30-Aug. 1, 2021.

The notice on the event’s website and Facebook page reads: “The Festival Committee has always kept you and our community at the center of our event planning and presenting this free celebration of music, dance, food, and culture has been a labor of love for nearly 20 years.

“Ensuring the safety of our patrons, performers, and more than 1,200 volunteers is a significant part of our planning process. However, this year the global effects of COVID-19 have presented a different type of threat — one which we cannot in good conscience ignore or attempt to work around. Hence, our decision to suspend 2020’s event. As disheartening as this news may be, we’ve already shifted our focus to 2021 and look forward to cel

ebrating with you then.”

The Fleurs de Fete is Dayton’s oldest and largest winethemed outdoor festival, but it too will not happen in 2020, according to a draft announcement from its host, Dayton History.

The Fleurs de Fete had been scheduled for May 17 at Carillon Historical Park. It would have been the 29th year of the event, which draws hundreds of people to outdoor tents to sample from among 400-plus wines, dozens of beers, and specialty dishes served up by 20 Dayton-area restaurants and caterers.

Dayton History based its decision on the most recent recommendations and directives from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, the Ohio Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control to limit public interactions and the spread of COVID-19 in the community, the draft announcement said.

“While we are disappointed not to be moving forward, it is in the best interest of our guests, vendors, volunteers and employees,” Dayton History officials said in the draft news release.

Fleurs de Fete was conceived by Heidelberg Distributing Co. CEO Vail Miller and Arrow Wine Owner Mike Frank. Today their sons Vail Miller Jr. and Mif Frank continue the community tradition in collaboration with

Dayton History.

Fraze Pavilion officials say Taco Fiesta 2020 also has been canceled. Scheduled to take place June 14 in Lincoln Park Commons in Kettering, the event was set to feature tacos from local restaurants, as well as live music. No new date has been set.

TOM GILLIAM / CONTRIBUTED Dayton Celtic Fest is one of Dayton’s signature festivals of summer. This year’s event had been scheduled for July 24-26 at RiverScape MetroPark. That was before the coronavirus and the need for social distancing bullied into everyday life.

CONTRIBUTED The Fleurs de Fete festival, which was to be held at Carillon Historical Park in mid-May, is organized by the Dayton History organization.