LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Hill City’s biggest festival will not be taking place in this year due to the coronavirus.
The Downtown Lynchburg Association has canceled Get Downtown 2020.
The event, which was scheduled to take place on Sept. 11, will not go on due to COVID-19 concerns and restrictions surrounding large gatherings.
Susan Brown, with DLA, said that although we’re in Phase Three and Gov. Ralph Northam is allowing 250 people to gather, that’s just not realistic for the Main Street event that attracts thousands to happen.
“For an event that brings 10,000 people to downtown, it just didn’t seem like we’d be there in September and to us it’s the right call to make at this time,” explained Brown.
“While we are saddened that we will not be able to produce this fantastic community event, we know the safety of our citizens, vendors, entertainers, and downtown businesses is the priority and that cancellation is ultimately the responsible thing to do,” said the organization’s executive director, Ashley Kershner, in a news release. “Get Downtown is Lynchburg’s signature community street festival, and although we are heartbroken, we are already looking forward to a fantastic event in 2021.”
To replace the event this year, DLA is asking for the community’s support on July 30 during Downtown-a-Thon, a 12-hour livestream event to benefit the Downtown Recovery Initiative.
The initiative includes projects and programs aimed at supporting Lynchburg’s small businesses as they recover from the impacts of coronavirus restrictions, including the Downtown Lynchburg Gift Card program public art installations, marketing and promotion, and more.