Fall Festival In South Suburban Frankfort Canceled Due To Coronavirus Pandemic

FRANKFORT, Ill. (CBS) -- The Fall Festival in south suburban Frankfort has become the latest event to be called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The festival is held every year over Labor Day weekend. Last year, they had over 250,000 visitors and 300 artisans from all over the U.S. selling products.

When the State of Illinois entered Phase 4 of its Restore Illinois reopening plan for the pandemic nearly two weeks ago, the Frankfort Chamber of Commerce and the Fall Festival Committee were still moving forward with the planning of a festival this year. But not anymore.

Organizers noted in a news release that while Illinois has been maintaining its coronavirus case numbers, the country as a whole is experiencing significant upticks that have a direct impact on Frankfort residents and those who attend the festival.

Organizers said they could have just canceled the Fall Festival in May and said something like: "We look forward to next year, better than ever. Thanks for your support and understanding." But they noted it is not so simple, given that the Fall Festival partners with numerous civic and philanthropic organizations that rely on the event to fund their efforts. The cancellation will mean a loss of funding for those organizations, and some of them may end up shutting down, organizers said.

Still, the chamber of commerce and the festival committee maintained that health and safety had to be the main priority, and no alternatives they could come up with to make the Fall Festival a reality turned out to be feasible. Thus, organizers said "with much sadness and some tears, Frankfort Fall Festival 2020 is canceled."