What Will The Spring/Summer Festival Season Look Like? Planners Are ‘Cautious’

While many spring and summer festivals are still waiting to move forward, the Dogwood Festival (seen here pre-pandemic) will hit Piedmont Park in August.

Courtesy of Atlanta Dogwood Festival / file photo

Will there or won’t there be a festival season this spring and summer? Event organizers across the city are as anxious as the patrons who long to stroll through a sea of musical acts, artists and food options.

When the COVID-19 pandemic canceled activities last year, the hope was 2021 would roar back bigger and better. But some events are still on the wait-and-see list. The leading factor: safety in numbers.

That’s a top concern for the Atlanta Jazz Festival, which often pulls about 60,000 people into Piedmont Park over Memorial Day weekend. Last year, a monthlong series of online performances substituted for the in-person experience. But this year’s dates have not been finalized, said Camille Russell Love, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.