Popular Roots & Heritage Festival will move online due to spike in COVID cases
A popular September festival that focuses on Black history and culture in Lexington will be held virtually this year due to the coronavirus.
The Roots & Heritage Festival, which is traditionally held in mid-September, will move online, according to a Facebook post by event organizers.
“COVID and the Variants have caused much concern for public health and safety as the number of cases are increasing at an alarming rate. For this reason, we are switching back to a virtual format for the festival,” the Facebook post said.
The event, which has been held since 1989, was canceled last year due to COVID.
Organizers plan to prerecord the musical guests and play them on the weekend of Sept. 10-12. The lineup and times will be announced at a later date. Organizers said they also plan to have a “reverse parade” with East End residents decorating their homes. Other events in the works include a scavenger hunt, according to the Facebook post.
Any vendors who had already paid a fee for the event will receive a refund, according to the Facebook post.
Most Facebook commenters were supportive of the decision. However, others questioned why Roots & Heritage canceled its event, yet the popular Crave Food Festival and other outdoor events, including Thursday Night Live, a downtown live concert series, have not been canceled due to the coronavirus.
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department has reported a surge in COVID cases to levels not seen since the pandemic’s peak in early 2021. The seven-day rolling average is now 158 cases — the highest seven-day rolling average since January.
This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 4:53 PM.
