Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival canceled over coronavirus fears

The City of Winter Park announced Thursday they have canceled the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival. The announcement came among a wave of cancellations this afternoon, as event organizers across Central Florida have begun bowing to the possibly inevitable.

In a subsequent tweet, city staff said they and the WPSAF committee decided together that “the health and safety of the community, guests, event patrons, artists and staff are the very top priority,” adding, “Thank you for understanding our concerns.”

This would have been the 61st iteration of the festival, which debuted in March 1960. More than 350,000 visitors come to Winter Park each year to browse works by the 225 artists selected by the jury.

For the most up-to-date & accurate information regarding COVID-19, access the Center for Disease Control at CDC.gov/COVID19. For more details on canceled and postponed Orlando events, visit our running list, which will be regularly updated in the coming days as we gather information.

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This article appears in Florida’s Democratic presidential primary.