Over the past three months, SAACA has been working closely with each of the communities in which we partner on feasibility and capacities of our larger community celebrations of arts and culture. These celebrations have not only grown to become significant economic drivers for participating artists, musicians and makers, but have also become an integral part of the cultural fabric in the communities that host the celebrations.
It is with deep regret that after continued conversation with the Town of Patagonia and the Sky Island Tourism Association we have come to a collaborative decision to cancel the 2020 Patagonia Fall Festival, originally scheduled for October 10 & 11, 2020 at the Patagonia Town Park. The community feels that postponing the festival until October 2021 is the best decision in the interest of Public Health and Community Safety.
We remain dedicated to our exhibitors, food vendors, artists, performers, and audiences and are actively scenario-planning for multiple options for the best way to move forward in the coming 2020/2021 season as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop. Our mission is to maintain the community spirit of creating more vibrant and equitable communities through artistic experiences and cultural gatherings.
We are still looking towards feasibility of a La Encantada Fine Art Festival in Tucson, AZ (October 24 & 25, 2020), the POP Art in Unexpected Places Art Festival at Kierland Commons in Scottsdale, AZ (November 2020) and the Holiday Festival of the Arts in Oro Valley, AZ (December 5 & 6, 2020) as well as other festival opportunities in outdoor sites throughout the State. At this time, we are moving cautiously forward with planning these festivals as scheduled and will continue until we hear otherwise from local/federal leadership regarding health practices and gathering in large groups as our State and local leaders announce further guidance. We anticipate making final announcements, updates and confirmations of those application releases no later than August 15, 2020.