SNELLVILLE – Due to logistical complications brought on by COVID-19, Snellville Parks and Recreation has announced that the 2021 Snellville Days Festival has been canceled.
"The COVID pandemic has affected all of our lives in one way or another in 2020, and now it seems clear it will flow over into 2021," said Parks and Recreation Director Lisa A. Platt, CPRP. "There is no way for us to be able to create a quality event for our citizens and visitors under the current COVID pandemic situation. Even though the event is still five months away, the planning and support needed from sponsors, vendors and the uncertainty of large groups being able to assemble, it just makes this event not possible for 2021."
The event, which usually takes place the first weekend in May, was canceled this year as well, as the event was slated to take place as the virus was on the rise.
However, city officials say the cancellation could be the first step to "re-imagining" the festival and when it does come back, transforming it into a better, more successful event.
"Just as The Grove at Towne Center is transforming Snellville's downtown, perhaps the Snellville Days Festival can do the same for our local events. Some changes and adjustments could create a new and exciting event that reflects a new attitude and emphasizes the diversity of Snellville's citizens and visitors," Platt said.
Mayor Barbara Bender added, "We will work toward a new version of the festival that creates excitement and better entertainment options for those who have always participated in the festival and for new patrons to come and enjoy."
The Snellville Days Festival is the city's largest annual festival drawing thousands over two days to T.W. Briscoe Park. For more than four decades, the festival has brought friends and neighbors together to enjoy two days of food, games, entertainment and arts and crafts vendors.