EF organizers secure alternative dates in August 2021.

EF organizers secure alternative dates in August 2021.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

ROTHBURY — The four-day Electric Forest Festival attracts 40,000 or more attendees from across the US and other countries to the Double JJ Resort each year, and organizers have secured two alternative time slots in August of 2021 in case the COVID-19 pandemic prevents the festival from happening during its normal June time frame.

The festival is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of June 24-27, said Rothbury Village Clerk Carol Witzke. However, alternative dates of Aug. 12-15 and Aug. 19-22 have been secured.

The massive event was canceled last summer due to COVID-19, and organizers recently announced they are eyeing options for 2021 dates.

The widely-popular music festival has been ongoing since 2010. A similar event, ROTHBURY, took place in 2008 and 2009.

The seven-member Rothbury Village Council approved a 10-year contract with producers in November of 2019, said Witzke, which allows the mass gathering to occur through 2029. The event must also receive approval from District Health Department #10, said Witzke. Should COVID-19 continue to be an issue, the health department will have the final say whether EF can happen.

Organizers announced on the festival’s website last week they are weighing “health and safety guidelines” in determining the dates of the 2021 festival. “While we are holding our typical June timeframe, we have to consider health and safety guidelines as well as artist, infrastructure, and vendor availability. These all play a part in confirming a date for summer 2021.”

Organizers last spring proposed moving the 2020 festival to September, but the council voted it down due to concerns of local schools being back in session after summer break.

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