2021 Valley of Flowers cancelled because of COVID

Post author:independentnws
Post published:February 17, 2021
Post category:City Government / Entertainment / Travel / Events / Florissant / Health / Seniors / Historic

2nd Year in a Row COVID forces VF Festival Cancellation

Stuck in the middle of one of the coldest and snowiest weeks in many years, thoughts of Spring activities fill the mind. But on Friday the biggest event that normally occurs in Florissant the first weekend of May had to be canceled for the second year in the row because of the COVID 19 virus.

After meeting with the Valley of Flowers organizers and the St. Louis County Department of Public Health it was decided to cancel the 59^th Annual Valley of Flowers festivities and the parade that was scheduled for May 7-9. It was canceled in 2020 after rescheduling from May to August because of upswings in COVID innfections.

Many of the health restrictions in place in 2020 are still in place for 2021. The Festival Committee began work on 2021 activities in conjunction with the City of Florissant and the Saint Louis County Department of Health. It became apparent that the ongoing issues and restrictions of Covid-19 would cause the Festival activities to be drastically reshaped. After an initial meeting with the Saint Louis County Department of Health, Florissant was informed that they will not authorize the Grand Parade for 2021.

In subsequent meetings with the County Department of Health, the County Health Department has indicated that the restrictions of social distancing, of requirement for masks and of limits on the number of attendees will have to be enforced if a Festival is to be approved by them. As a result, the Festival Committee and the City of Florissant regret that the Valley of Flowers Festival for 2021 has to be cancelled for the safety and well-being of the community.

Mayor Tim Lowery and the Valley of Flowers organizers made this decision because keeping everyone safe and healthy is the ultimate priority.

Over the next two months the festival committee will work with the City of Florissant to determine whether there are opportunities for “virtual Festival events” so that the spirit of the Festival weekend can be kept alive in the face of the pandemic limitations. For updated information please either visit www.florissantvalleyoflowers.com and/or www.florissantmo.com and all of the city’s social media outlets.