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Locust Street Festival and Riverwest Beer Run have canceled for 2021

Riverwest will be going without two of its favorite summer traditions once again this year. The Locust Street Festival of Music & Art and its opening Riverwest Beer Run have both been canceled.

They'd been tentatively scheduled for Sunday, June 13, a date that was always going to be a long shot given the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.

The Locust Street Festival of Music & Art

The organizers sent out the following statement.

After careful consideration, the Locust Street Festival of Music & Art, and the event that kicks it off, the Riverwest Beer Run, have both been cancelled for 2021. Known as one of Milwaukee’s most popular, diverse, and longest-running street festivals, this was to be the event’s 45th year. This is the second consecutive year that Locust Street Festival has been cancelled.

While the severity of the Covid-19 virus has been reduced in recent months, the Festival committee made the decision that it’s again best to cancel this year’s festival, than to risk the health and safety of its attendees, artisans, staff, and organizers. It was scheduled for Sunday, June 13th, 2021. With the cancellation, the Locust Street Festival and Riverwest Beer Run will next take place on Sunday, June 12, 2022.

Many of Milwaukee's other major summer festivals, especially those scheduled for the early summer, have made their own cancellation announcements. Polish Fest, Festa Italiana and German Fest have both canceled for 2021, as has PrideFest (although PrideFest has left open the possibility of hosting an event later in the year).

Summerfest, meanwhile, has been moved to three weekends in September, although a lineup has not yet been announced.