Organizers of the Red Dress Run had hoped for a return to normalcy this year, but as other returning events like White Linen Night and Jazz Fest have fallen by the wayside in recent days due to the latest COVID-19 surge, so too goes the annual Big Easy tradition that floods the streets with revelry and runners clad in crimson.
The 2021 run had been set for August 14, but just five days out from the event, a majority of the committee that organizes it voted on cancellation for the second straight year.
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The run normally features thousands of participants in red dresses making their way through the streets of the French Quarter on a two-mile jaunt. Benefits go to a variety of local non-profit organizations.
The highly-contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus has feasted on Louisiana's large numbers of unvaccinated to spread in alarming numbers in recent weeks, putting the Crescent City's hopes of a robust and jovial autumn for local businesses in severe jeopardy.
This story was updated on August 9 to reflect the event's cancellation.


