Americana Festival announces plans to hold July event this year

Credit: FILE

Credit: FILE

Organizers of a Dayton-area festival that traditionally attracts tens of thousands of people are planning to hold it this year after the 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID-19.

Americana Festival officials are preparing for the event, traditionally held on Independence Day unless it falls on a Sunday, which happens this year.

The event is scheduled for July 5, according to Americana website.

Officials cited Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s announcement earlier this month that he will remove coronavirus-related health guidelines once the state reaches 50 cases per 100,000 people.

The website also stated “the recent positive trends in the number of COVID-19 cases and the COVID-19 vaccine rolling out to more the country’s population” as reasons to begin planning for the 47th festival.

Americana, which usually attracts more than 85,000 people, is centered around Ohio 48 – or South Main Street in Centerville.

However, it is not known what attendance restrictions may be in place for this year’s event. Plans for Americana will be updated in the coming weeks and months, according to the festival’s website.

Among the events planned are a fireworks display, 5k run, parade and a street fair that includes booths with food vendors and other businesses.

Americana is among the spring and summer entertainment events which area officials have said they are planning to hold as the number of coronavirus cases in Ohio have dropped, vaccines are more widely available and public health restrictions have lessened in recent weeks.

Kettering plans to open the Fraze Pavilion this summer for shows and Centerville has scheduled its free Sunday concert series at Stubbs Park Amphitheater to begin in June.

Officials have said both the Fraze and the Centerville concert series – which were cancelled last year – will follow the public health guidelines and protocols in place at that time.

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