Release:

It is with an extremely heavy heart and profound sadness that I must announce the cancellation of the 2020 Azalea Festival. My Board, volunteers, and I worked very hard all day setting up Drexel Park for what was going to be an exciting weekend. But, with the President’s health declaration late this afternoon, and then the Governor’s health declaration (the first ever in the state of GA) that did not come until this evening, and after consulting with the Mayor, elected officials, and our Azalea Festival Board for hours tonight, we have had to make this most difficult decision. I know this decision financially hurts all of our vendors, some of which are close friends of mine, and disappoints possibly thousands of patrons that were still planning on coming, but I could not risk the health of our community, our visitors, our volunteers, or our Board. My heart is literally in pieces right now, and it aches for everyone that helped put this together over the course of the last year. We tried our best to make this Festival happen, but a lot happened today in our country, our state, and our community. Everything has literally come to a standstill. Is it a bunch of hoopla over nothing? I sincerely hope so, but it doesn’t appear that way. If cancelling this event saves one life or prevents one infection, then all of this disappointment will be worth it. To all of the friends, Board members, and Festival supporters that I may have lost over this. I’m sorry.
Sincerely,
H. Aaron Strickland