A year has passed since the pandemic first began, but the United States is still dealing with COVID-19 as it continues to postpone and cancel popular events. 

Singing the Blues is the largest oceanfront free Blues Festival in the world. It takes place in Jacksonville Beach every April. However, the event typically held on April 9, 10, 11 will not be returning this month. Singing the Blues’ website announced that the festival is postponed another year to April 9, 10, 11 of 2022. It was also announced that The Great Atlantic Southern Rock Revival would also be postponed and take place on March 20 of next year. 

In regard to the situation, Springing the Blues stated  this on their website:

“The decision to postpone is out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety and well-being of attendees, volunteers, staff, sponsors, performers, and vendors due to the risks and uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 and its variants as well as Government Restrictions placed on large crowd gatherings in order to lessen potential exposure and slow the spread of this deadly disease. It is still too risky to safely put on a festival…” 

In addition to Singing the Blues being canceled, the well-known Mandarin Art Festival was canceled this year as well. According to their website, the Mandarin Art Festival is, “a high-quality juried fine art event, enjoys thousands of visitors who return year after year for their favorite artists or to see the array of creations by artists new to the festival. For many, this has become an Easter weekend tradition. Many generations of Mandarin children have enjoyed and remember the Easter Egg Hunt which was a part of the weekend activities.” 

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the event that was supposed to be hosted on April 3 and 4 was canceled. 

As COVID-19 continues to haunt the everyday lives of Americans, people continue to participate in the guessing game of when will “normal” life return. 

____