Sumter's Iris Festival, Shaw Air and Space Expo canceled because of COVID-19
Two of the biggest events Sumter would have seen this year now will not happen because of the coronavirus.
The Iris Festival will have to wait another year before celebrating its 80th anniversary. Event planners for Sumter’s iconic Memorial Day weekend event said holding it would put the community at risk.
“Many vendors are reluctant to commit at this time,” said Lynn Kennedy, Iris Festival chairwoman. “We are using an abundance of caution and have the public’s safety in mind in this decision.”
Sumter’s Iris Festival is the longest-running festival in South Carolina. It is held at the world-famous Swan Lake-Iris Gardens, a public park in the center of Sumter. It usually welcomes tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world to witness the park’s iris blooms, which bloom yearly in mid to late May until the beginning of June and are some of the nation’s most intensive plantings of Japanese iris.
It usually includes concerts, arts and crafts, plants and flowers for sale, antique and classic car shows, children’s activities, vendors, food, the crowning of the Iris King and Queen and a food event called Taste at the Gardens. It is highlighted by the annual Shrine Day Parade.
It has only been canceled a few times in its history: in the 1940s during World War II and in 1990 after Hurricane Hugo.
Another highly anticipated May event has also been shut down due to the continued threat the COVID-19 outbreak poses to public gatherings.
Shaw Air Force Base announced the cancellation of the Shaw Air and Space Expo Tuesday afternoon on Facebook. Originally scheduled for May 15-17, the public event was supposed to feature a STEM day and aircraft demonstrations, headlined by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, the premier air demonstration squadron for the U.S. Air Force.
The Thunderbirds teams consists of 12 officers and more than 120 enlisted personnel, representing 30 career fields. The team combines years of training and experience to provide hour-long demonstrations showcasing the USAF’s advance capabilities, according to Shaw
The post explained Shaw does not have a date for the next show. It only usually is held once every four years.
One active duty airman and two family members of airmen at Shaw have officially tested positive for COVID-19, according to Shaw.