Danville’s Mayberry in the Midwest canceled
By Lindsay Doty
The popular Mayberry in the Midwest festival slated for May 15-17 in Danville has been canceled. With government restrictions and concerns over the spread of COVID-19, festival organizers decided to call off the event for 2020.
“I just think it’s sad because people need to get together,” said Christa Miller, festival organizer and executive director of the Downtown Danville Partnership.
“We have delayed making the call to cancel hoping that the situation would improve and we could once again offer a fun weekend to our town and many visitors, but things do not seem to be heading that direction. Thank you for your patience and understanding,” Miller said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
The cancelation was met with messages of disappointment and encouragement.
“People understand,” said Miller, who received several personal e-mails of support from the community and dozens of messages on social media.
“Thank you for letting us know. It is a disappointment not to see your beautiful town this year. Your festival is such a fun time and your residents are the perfect hosts,” said Nancy Hemphill, a festival regular from Henryville, Indiana.
‘We are sad but certainly understand. Let’s make 2021 bigger and better than ever!” writes Lorie York on Facebook.
“Sad news, but, certainly understandable. We’ll sure miss seeing everybody this year. Thanks to the organizers for working so hard and doing everything possible to make this year’s event a reality. We’ll start now looking forward to another great festival in 2021! ” wrote Eric Lowry on Facebook in response to the cancelation.
All Mayberry in the Midwest sponsors, ticket holders, and vendors are being refunded.
Several sponsors, including L&N Welding in Danville and Hendricks Power, have already donated the vendor fee back, repurposing it for the festival fund or other Danville community events like the Summer Sounds Concert Series.
“I really appreciate it,” said Miller about the donations.
This would have been the 7th year for Mayberry in the Midwest. The family-friendly event that celebrates the fictional town of Mayberry depicted in the “The Andy Griffith Show” was expected to draw a record crowd of more than 5,000 people.
Project leaders with the new “Mayberry Man” movie were expected to film scenes during the event but have rescheduled for September, according to festival organizers.
Beautiful weather brought a huge crowd to the Danville Courthouse Square for the 6th Annual Mayberry in the Midwest Tribute Artists Show. (Photo by Faith Toole)
