After a successful debut last fall, San Diego's Wonderfront Festival has announced the cancellation of its 2020 installment, citing continued concerns surrounding the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
With a distinguished team of organizers which included skateboard legend Tony Hawk, surf great Rob Machado, and Padres All-Star pitcher Trevor Hoffman, Wonderfront held its wildly successful inaugural 3-day event along downtown San Diego's waterfront during the weekend of November. 22-24, 2019. The music and culture festival included 7+ stages strategically placed around San Diego's urban waterfront, from Broadway Pier to Embarcadero South, with water taxis between areas, yacht parties, a Tony Hawk-led skatepark, art installations, craft beer and cocktail gardens, local vendors, and seamless transitions between musical acts. This year, festival organizers promised an even more elaborate event. In the cancellation announcement, Wonderfront organizers teased that they intend on hosting some kind of smaller events this fall.
"We are deeply saddened to announce that Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival will officially be postponed to 2021," explained festival organizers on a post to social media. "This decision was not made lightly and we held out as long as possible, hoping there would be enouch indication that a large-scale festival would be able to take place this Fall. Unfortunately, we found this decision inescapable due to recent signals from the Governor and the time it takes to pull off a successful large-scale event like Wonderfont Festival."
On April 28, California Governor Gavin Newsom detailed his 4-stage plan to reopen California's economy. He indicated that large-scale events like concerts and festivals would be the last to be permitted, stating that such events could not occur until therapeutics are in place, like immunity, medicine or a vaccine.
Another San Diego-based music, art and cultural festival, KAABOO is scheduled to take place this coming September 18-20 at a new venue inside and around Petco Park. On March 16, event organizers posted on KAABOO's social media that they were committed to hosting their festival, but as we see more and more event cancellations, it seems unlikely the festival will take place. Most of San Diego's most popular summer events have already been cancelled, including the San Diego County Fair, San Diego Pride, Comic-Con International San Diego, the OB Street Fair & Chili Cookoff, and the 4th of July Big Bay Boom. The Del Mar Racetrack has stated they will proceed with its summer 2020 season even without fans.
For more information about the Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival, visit wonderfrontfestival.com.