CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI – March 16, 2020 – In coordination with the City of Clarksdale, Mississippi State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, the nonprofit Clarksdale Downtown Development Association announced today that the April 18, 2020, Juke Joint Festival has been cancelled.

"We have been in constant conversation with Mayor Espy during this crisis, and he has been in contact with the Mississippi State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control," said festival spokesperson Roger Stolle. "While many attendees and local businesses voiced support for the festival as late as Saturday, the latest news from the State and CDC precipitated this decision. The health of our often older musicians, attendees, organizers and community neighbors is just too important."

Saturday, the Governor of Mississippi declared a statewide State of Emergency due to Coronavirus COVID-19, www.msema.org.

Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control, in concert with the Mississippi State Department of Health, announced, in part: "CDC, in accordance with its guidance for large events and mass gatherings, recommends that for the next 8 weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States."

Full CDC announcement and recommendations at www.cdc.gov.

"Festival organizers will be in contact with musicians, artists, vendors, venues and others directly impacted by this unfortunate cancellation," said festival co-organizer Nan Hughes. "These are trying times, and we appreciate our festival friends and supporters more than ever."

The next Juke Joint Festival is scheduled for Saturday, April 17, 2021, with related events running April 15-18, 2021.

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