Festival International de Louisiana will not take place this spring.
Festival International de Louisiana Executive Director Scott Feehan made it official on Monday afternoon that the annual event held in downtown Lafayette every year has been called off for this spring due to the threat of the coronavirus.
In his statement, Feehan though did leave open the possibility that the festival could be held sometime during the fall. Below is the full statement from Feehan.
“Dear Festival supporters, patrons and the entire Lafayette community,
We regret to inform you that Festival International de Louisiane is officially called off for this spring, April 22-26, 2020. After vigorously exploring options and hoping for an optimistic outcome, the coronavirus, COVID-19, has posed too much of a threat for us to carry-on planning for our Festival next month.
We are exploring all possible options for rescheduling in the Fall. There are, of course, major challenges in pursuing this and we are not sure of the feasibility at this time. We will be working over the coming days to evaluate and analyze what our options are and will communicate as we know more. We ask for patience as we find solutions at this time.
Our thoughts are with everyone around the world impacted by this volatile situation. We extend our most sincere thank you to our community, patrons, sponsors, supporters, volunteers, artists, vendors, media, and the Lafayette Consolidated Government for your support and patience during this difficult time.
We are in uncharted territory right now and are all in this together. We would encourage you all to heed the advice of the CDC, as well as local, State and Federal governments – take care of yourselves and your loved ones.
Sincerely,
Scott Feehan
Executive Director I Festival International de Louisiane”