Downtown Association cancels Street Fair
Taste of Coeur d’Alene also a no-go
One of the few remaining Coeur d’Alene events left untouched on the summer schedule was called off Thursday after the Downtown Association announced it was canceling this year’s Downtown Street Fair due to the coronavirus.
The event, originally scheduled to run July 31 through Aug. 2, traditionally went hand-in-hand with Art On The Green, the annual vendor spotlight that rolls through City Park each year. But organizers canceled Art On The Green May 13, leaving the Downtown Association and its businesses holding out hope the Street Fair would continue.
“I know the Street Fair has about 60,000 people that come every year,” said Savannah Breckenridge, manager of Kandy’s Boutique, in an interview for a June 27 story. “We rely heavily on that. I think if everybody comes to that — if that isn’t (canceled) — we’ll be OK.”
In a statement, Downtown Association event coordinator Emily Boyd said the decision to cancel was not an easy one for the group’s board of directors to make.
“Events are what brings our community together,” Boyd said, “and they are a staple within the downtown corridor, so it is very difficult for the community and businesses to continue to see these cancellations. But it is a step we have to take at this time to keep our community safe and help our businesses maintain daily operations.”
Boyd added that the Downtown Association was exploring the possibility of holding a smaller, more spread-out event in the fall, though no plans have been finalized.
The Panhandle Kiwanis Club said in a press release that it “has reluctantly decided that it is in the best interests of our community and residents to cancel our 2020 Taste of Coeur d’Alene.
Bayview Daze, Hayden Days, Car d’Lane, the Brewfest and the North Idaho State Fair have all been canceled along with many similar events in Spokane and the Spokane Valley.
“We are of course saddened by this turn of events, but felt that it was the only responsible course of action in light of the new wave of COVID-19 cases in our county,” a press release said. “We look forward to seeing you next year, and promise to make it a bigger and better event.”
The cancellations have come after COVID-19 numbers have spiked throughout North Idaho.