Oldenburg, IN — Officials with Freufenfest, the “Biggest Littlest German Festival in Indiana” have opted to postpone the event for another year due to the pandemic.
Freudenfest for 2021 will not be happening in the traditional sense once again this year, but similar to last year, organizers encourage all to celebrate in their own, safe way.
In February the Freudenfest Committee met to discuss options for this year, and at that point, it was just too early to call. It was decided to table the discussion and meet again in March to make a final call. During that time between meetings, organizers have been in continual contact with both the state and local (Franklin County) health departments to get their take.
Although the guidelines could change over the coming months on crowd limits, it was stated that there is no way they can predict what guidelines will be for July and they would not be able to give a firm decision on whether they would support a gathering like this until June. Health officials also wanted organizers of the event to have a risk management plan for minimizing COVID risk and a policy for cleaning/disinfecting dining tables and other areas between uses. In addition, some local volunteers that usually work at the festival stated that they would not be working this year regardless of the decision
Lastly, predicting the level of supplies needed became difficult and there are certain things that have to be ordered early and cannot be returned in the event of a late cancellation.
