Coronavirus pandemic forces cancellation of 2020 Saskatoon Fringe Festival

A summertime staple on Saskatoon’s Broadway Avenue will not take place this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The 25th Street Theatre board of directors announced on Tuesday that it had voted in favour of cancelling the 2020 Saskatoon Fringe Festival because of the impact of COVID-19.

The festival was scheduled to run from July 30 to Aug. 8.

The executive director of the festival, Anita Smith, said the decision was not made lightly. Other members of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals who have cancelled their scheduled festivals include Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Regina and Edmonton.

“With many other Fringe Festivals also cancelling their programming, and considering the unique nature of the Fringe Festival circuit requiring artists to travel across the country, the continent and the world, the board agreed that this was the responsible decision to make at this time,” she said in a press release.

“We are aware of the impact that this cancellation will have not only on our community but on the theatre artists who rely on the festival to generate income.”

All theatre artists and food vendors who were scheduled to participate this summer will be given the option to defer their space to the 2021 festival or receive a full refund of their registration fee.

Smith said the festival paid out roughly $125,000 in ticket sales to its theatre artists in 2019.

The 25th Street Theatre said it hopes to continue engaging the community through art by connecting the community to local theatre artists through the creation of digital content and online programs.

It added that this type of programming will be dependent on the organization’s ability to qualify for the various wage subsidy programs that have been announced by the federal and provincial governments.

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