The Kiwanis Club of Clovis announced Friday that Freedom Fest, one of the Valley’s premier Independence Day Celebrations, has been canceled.
“This year marks the 40th anniversary of this annual community event, and we are deeply saddened by the decision we have had to make to cancel Freedom Fest 2020,” said Larry Loucks, Clovis Kiwanis Club President, according to a news release.
“This decision was not an easy one and will impact not only our community, but our vendors and our club.”
Freedom Fest is a fundraiser that supports local programs such as the Boy Scouts, Special Olympics, Valley Children’s Hospital, college scholarships, senior citizen programs and others.
“Based on the State of California guidelines for large gatherings, we knew the event would not happen in the same form as it has since 1980,” Loucks said. He added that the organization explored alternative ways to provide an Independence Day fireworks show, but ran out of time.
The city of Clovis estimates that the economic impact of the cancellation to be well over $1 million, according to the news release.
“This is another huge hit to our local economy,” said Shawn Miller, Clovis’ Business Development Manager.
“This is truly a community-wide event,” said Greg Newman, CEO of the Clovis Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a great tradition that will be missed. There will be a big hole in our summer.”