The Rochester Lilac Festival, held annually in Highland Park, was held over three weekends in 2021 to help spread out the concentration of festivalgoers. The three-weekend format will continue in 2022 due to its success. Credit: FILE PHOTO

The Lilac Festival has been postponed due to the coronavirus.

In a post on the festival’s Facebook, organizers wrote that the Monroe County Health Department advised them that the festival would not be able to take place from May 8-17, as had been planned. In recent days, the county has seen a steady increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, as well as the first death linked to the virus.

“As you can imagine, this is painful for all of us,” reads the post. “However, we are hopeful and optimistic that we will be able to reschedule.”

Later in the post, festival organizers stated that they’ll let the public know “if, and when,” they plan to reschedule.

This article appears in Mar 18-24, 2020.

Covers county government and whatever else comes my way. Greyhound dad; vegetarian; attempted photographer with a love for film and fixer; sometimes cyclist.