The first ever Nickel Plate Music & Arts Festival that had been scheduled for Saturday, August 29th in downtown Rochester has been cancelled and rescheduled for Saturday, August 28th, 2021, due to concerns related to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The event, which would have featured live music and art related exhibits and activities had gained an enthusiastic amount of interest from potential participants, vendors, and the attendees alike. Festival founder Christine Walsh, inspired by the impressive number of creative people who live in the area, sought to create an event that would showcase their talents while engaging the rest of the community in the same spirit as the old Round Barn Festivals. Hopes that the Coronavirus would recede enough to still stage the event dimmed, as the virus continues to thrive and cause ripples of uncertainty in our lives.
“We really wanted to make a good impression with our first Festival,” Walsh said. “and we really don’t know what is going to happen between now and the originally scheduled date, but it does not seem like the Coronavirus is going to cooperate by going away before then.”
After consulting with the Rochester Downtown Partnership and public officials, the decision to postpone the event was decided with a heavy heart, but also, with a healthy dose of optimism.
“I’m sad we have to wait a year to see it happen, but on the bright side, that gives us another twelve months to plan and prepare to make the festival even better,” Walsh said. “I want it to be remembered as an awesome event that people will be talking about and looking forward to in the years ahead; I see this delay as nothing less than an opportunity to make it even better than I originally imagined it.”
If you would like to send a donation to help support this event, or if you would like to sponsor a specific musician or art project, please contact cwalshRDP@gmail.com for more information.
