Bridgefest called off for 2021

Bridgefest organizers announced the cancelation of this year’s event just before noon on Tuesday. The festival was initially scheduled for Father’s Day weekend, June 17-20th. Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce President Mary Myers says the decision was incredibly difficult to make and is promising that some events may still go on as they are capable to be done in a socially distanced way.

The full press release is below.

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As organizers of the Bridgefest Celebration, we have been closely monitoring the ever-evolving COVID-19 crisis.  After careful deliberation, we have decided to cancel Bridgefest 2021, which was scheduled for June17-20th. 

We feel there are too many uncertainties about the pandemic at this time, and we don’t know what limitations and restrictions we may face again this season due to social distancing requirements. Big events which draw thousands of people to the Keweenaw, take months of planning and with there still being many uncertainties, we feel it is best to hold off another year.  We want to ensure Bridgefest remains not only a safe event, but a successful event as well.  

“This was one of the most difficult decisions the Chamber and the committee have had to make,” says Mary Myers, Board President of the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce. “Knowing the history and tradition behind the Bridgefest Celebration, I can assure you this decision was not made lightly or without extensive conversation amongst the Board and the Bridgefest Committee. However, the health and safety of the community are much more important to us. We will be back in 2022, and it will be bigger, and it will be better than ever.”

“While we are disappointed at the thought of kicking off summer without this traditional event, we feel that moving forward with the given uncertainty would be a risk to our community, volunteers, vendors, and guests,” says Katie Schlief of the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce. “We also want to make sure we can provide the support our local business community needs at this time. Bridgefest will be back, and we will aspire to make it better than ever. 

While Bridgefest may not take place, we are looking into having a few social distanced, COVID-19 compliant initiatives. Stay Tuned!  

Please reach out to the Chamber at info@keweenaw.org if you have any concerns or questions. 

We appreciate all of you sticking with us through these trying times and look forward to celebrating with you June 16-19, 2022.