EAST LANSING, Mich. — Given the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination rollout, City of East Lansing leadership and staff have made the difficult decision to postpone the 2021 East Lansing Art Festival (ELAF) until the weekend of Aug. 7-8.
The decision to move the festival dates from May to August comes at a time when there are still too many uncertainties to confidently move forward with planning an in-person festival in the spring. The ELAF organizers recognize that participating artists will be much more successful at an in-person festival versus a virtual festival, and they believe there will be a better chance to host an in-person festival later this summer.
“We remain committed to our artists and to the local businesses that benefit from the increased foot traffic that an in-person festival brings to the downtown,” said Art Festival & Arts Initiative Coordinator Heather Majano. “Our hope is that by postponing this year’s festival until later in the summer, we will have a better chance of being able to host the festival in person in the heart of downtown East Lansing.”
Artists who have already applied for consideration for this year’s festival were notified by email of the postponement earlier this week and have been provided with the option of either continuing with the jury process or receiving a full refund of their jury fee if they are no longer able to participate. Artists who are no longer able to participate have until February 15, 2021 to request a jury fee refund, and they can send an email to hmajano@cityofeastlansing.com to make that refund request. Adjustments have also been made to the application process to accommodate additional artists who may be interested in applying to be a part of the 2021 festival during its new dates in August. The new deadline for applications from artists and emerging artists is February 15, 2021. Artists can learn more and apply at http://www.elartfest.com/artists. If the festival does have to be converted from an in-person event to a virtual event, artist booth fees will be reimbursed.