"2020 Was… Useful"

BEYOND 2020, EPISODE 4

Covid took the world by surprise. We didn’t see it coming and we were completely flat-footed when it arrived.

The timing was especially difficult for so many spring/summer festivals that use the months of March and April to finalize many of their event anchors. Being put “on stand by” during such a crucial stage resulted in an array of chaotic responses.

Now as we round the 12 month mark of the pandemic, festival organizers are looking at a world still deeply impacted by Covid on a daily basis. How do they begin to plan their festivals now, when we seem no closer to answers than we were a year ago.

Jeff Bray is the Festival Director of Cultivate Festival in Port Hope, Ontario. He says that, while Covid impacted them just like every other large scale public event, there were still positives that could be taken away from it, that they look forward to banking on in the years to come.

You can learn more about their event at https://cultivatefestival.ca/