Anyone hoping to attend Highland Fest 2020 is out of luck.
The festival in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood is canceled this year according to a Facebook announcement posted Friday.
The Highland Business Association board of directors, who called the festival a "labor of love," cited costs, staffing, operational concerns, and alignment with their mission.
"The board felt that undergoing another Highland Fest would not only be a significant financial risk, but would also require the association not be able to prioritize direct service and delivering on expected member benefits," according to the statement.
The had taken place in the middle of the summer for more than thirty years and went from being an art fair to a three-day multi-entertainment event, with large crowds attending in the southwest corner of St. Paul.
Ford Parkway would be closed off for art tents, music stages, and food offerings.
The famed Highland Park water tower Ford and Snelling Avenue would have open house during Highland Fest, one of only two weekends a year that the nearly century-old structure was open to the public.
In the statement, the association noted that they will continue to support other events in the neighborhood, some of which center on the holidays like Halloween and Christmas.
The statement did not indicate if Highland Fest would be renewed in the future.
