Richardson Cancels 28th Annual Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival

RICHARDSON, Texas, March 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Richardson today announced that the 28^th annual Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival, scheduled for May 15-17, 2020, has been canceled. The cancellation is designed to protect the public's health and safety, consistent with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and other public health experts, and also to ensure that City resources can remain fully focused on delivery of critical services throughout the duration of the COVID-19 situation.

Full refunds will be available to all Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival ticketholders. For those who ordered tickets online, refunds will be processed automatically through Etix, so further action by ticketholders is not required.

To receive a refund-by-check for Richardson resident discount tickets, residents must send their tickets, along with their name and mailing address, to:

City of Richardson
Accounting Department
P.O. Box 830309
Richardson, TX 75083-0309

Festival sponsors and exhibitors were notified today of the City's cancellation decision.

Any individuals or groups who planned travel or hotel accommodations for this event should contact their travel provider immediately for cancellations and further guidance on refund options.

"After significant deliberations, we felt that we had no other choice but to cancel this event as the only right decision under the circumstances," said Richardson Mayor Paul Voelker. "It is unfortunate, as the Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival has been a major part of our community coming together for decades, but it was necessary to ensure that we are not putting thousands of visitors at risk and that we are remaining fully compliant with the guidance provided by federal, state and county officials. We look forward to beginning our work later this year to plan for the resumption of this annual tradition in the spring of 2021."

Due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic, cities, counties and states across the U.S. have limited or banned large public gatherings, and both Dallas and Collin counties have issued orders prohibiting public gatherings for the immediate future – orders that county officials have already declared are likely to be extended soon, based on the continually evolving pandemic situation. In light of this, many North Texas event organizers have already canceled or postponed events this spring, and others are currently in the process of evaluating or announcing their options.

Additionally, yesterday the Richardson City Council announced a continuation of the Declaration of Disaster for a Local Health Emergency that was first signed by Mayor Voelker on March 18, 2020. The newly amended declaration expanded prohibitions and includes orders for residential sheltering in place as well as the closing of all Richardson business operations not considered to be "essential." The declaration is effective until April 30, 2020, unless superseded, canceled, modified, amended or terminated earlier by the Mayor and/or the City Council due to changed conditions.

For further information about this event cancellation or to monitor for new information about future City of Richardson festivals and events, please visit www.cor.net/departments/parks-recreation, www.wildflowerfestival.com or the social media feeds of the City and this festival.

(All updates related to the coronavirus and its impact on City services and events can be found on the City of Richardson's COVID-19 news page at www.cor.net/coronavirus.)

MEDIA CONTACT: Greg Sowell, Communications Director, City of Richardson, 972-744-4218 (office), 972-897-2762 (cell), greg.sowell@cor.gov 

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Richardson Cancels 28th Annual Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival
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SOURCE City of Richardson