Rochester’s Park Avenue Festival canceled for summer 2022

Rochester, New York — On Thursday Officials have confirmed that the Park Avenue Summer Arts Festival in Rochester will not happen in 2022.

Officials made the announcement, saying they hope the festival will return in 2023.

“It is with heavy hearts that we inform you there will not be a Park Avenue Summer Arts Festival this year,” the Park Avenue Revitalization Committee said in a statement. “We have worked hard to make it happen but, in the end, there are too many obstacles to overcome. We are extremely disappointed and ask that you respect the difficult decision, countless hours, and time that we put into bringing it back. We will continue to look at ways to host incredible events on Park Avenue until we can bring the festival back in 2023!”

Earlier this month, the fate of the 2022 festival came into question, when Monroe County Legislators Rachel Barnhart (D-24) and Linda Hasman (D-23) co-wrote a letter to Monroe County Executive Adam Bello and Rochester Mayor Malik Evans saying they learned the festival was unlikely to take place.

According to Barnhart and Hasman, festival organizers were unable to find a promoter and would need help from merchants and community stakeholders to return in 2023.

This year, other events canceled by the pandemic have been resuming seasonal operations. Rochester’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade returned in March for the first time in two years.

For the first time since 2019, the Lilac Festival is also bringing back its free concert series.