Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival cancels Jazz workshops due to positive COVID-19 tests

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - The Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival has cancelled its Jazz workshops due to COVID-19.

According to Executive Director, James Menaker, last weekend a registrant in the workshops tested positive.

Upon further testing, two guest teachers tested positive as well and are quarantining.

Menaker says that the remaining 19 arts categories being taught this year have not reported any positive results, and will continue to be taught until the end of the festival.

This year, the festival features 120 classes and is seeing 500 participants, which according to Menaker is about half the amount seen in a normal year. “It is logistically challenging because up until two months ago, we didn’t know if we were actually going to have a festival.”

Menaker added, “The instructors are deeply grateful that we are putting this on, and the registrants who are able to take classes are having a great time and have expressed a lot of joy that this has come back into the community.”

This weekend, the festival is putting on multiple events around Fairbanks. These include a Summer Gala at the Westmark Hotel, and Steel Pans and Aerial Silks at the Tanana Valley State Fair.

More information can be found at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival website.

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