Brookhaven’s Cherry Blossom Festival canceled for 2nd straight year due to COVID-19

Brookhaven canceled the 2021 Cherry Blossom Festival due to the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths throughout Georgia.

The annual music and arts festival was among the first wave of events canceled last year at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s among the first events to be canceled for two straight years. The accompanying Cherry Blossom Festival 5K has also been canceled.

“When we canceled last year’s Cherry Blossom Festival, it was our sincere hope that COVID-19 would be eradicated in time for a successful event this year,” Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst said in a news release. “As that is clearly not the case, to prevent the obvious threat to the health of the general public, we will not be holding that event this year.”

The festival would have taken place April 17 and 18, and it’s usually among the first music festivals in metro Atlanta each spring. It’s unclear if the city got far enough in the planning process this year to book headliners. The 2020 headliners were going to be pop singer Rachel Platten and alternative rock band Better Than Ezra before its cancellation.

“When we get out of the pandemic, hopefully by this summer, we are going to have one hell of a celebration in Brookhaven,” Ernst said.

As of Monday, there were nearly 40,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 500 deaths in DeKalb County. For the latest updates on the coronavirus in Georgia, visit ajc.com/news/coronavirus.