This year’s Sanford StreetFest & Fireworks event has been canceled, Downtown Sanford Inc. Executive Director Kelli Laudate announced today. The event was scheduled for Oct. 10.
Laudate went before the Sanford City Council (virtually) on May 5 to recommend the move. The StreetFest has drawn large crowds to downtown since launching in 2017. The event has drawn music acts like Southern Culture on the Skids and Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band in recent years.
“This recommendation did not come lightly,” she said. “Many factors played a role in the decision made, but the biggest factor was the safety and wellbeing of our community.”
DSI will instead host a Downtown Alive Second Saturday Series beginning June 13, in partnership with the Sanford Farmers’ Market, which began in April and will run through November. The new series will “provide an avenue for the community to spend the day in downtown; visiting the market, shopping, dining in the restaurants with a few surprises thrown in monthly.”
While the Second Saturday Series will be more low-key than StreetFest (a purposeful move, with social distancing in mind), DSI Board of Directors Chairperson Sharon Spence said she hopes it will put a spotlight on local businesses.
“The DSI board of directors is thrilled to showcase all the wonderful things Downtown Sanford has to offer through this must-see visit downtown series,” Spence said in a press release.