Blueberry Jam is still supposed to go forward this year, but the 2021 edition of the music festival has been moved to September.
The Blueberry Jam Music Gathering organizing committee announced the change July 7, moving from the previously announced tentative dates of August 5-9 to Sept. 3-5. The event itself will see some alterations, but fewer than organizers initially anticipated when putting together plans in April.
"Over the past week our volunteer board discussed what we knew about our situation. We came to the consensus that it isn’t going to be the Blueberry Jam we want but the Blueberry Jam we can do," reads the committee's announcement.
"There's a couple of reasons; first, bands have found it difficult to practice together but they want to present tight performances and second, under the current regulations, we cannot commit resources to a festival on the second weekend in August."
The change in dates comes after the Manitoba government's plan to incrementally ease (and eventually eliminate) COVID-19-related public health orders by Labour Day long weekend - which happens to be the same weekend as the new announced Blueberry Jam dates. The organizing committee quoted Manitoba chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin, who said July 6 that Manitoba is moving faster than expected on provincial vaccination rates.
"That’s the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday just before Manitoba’s Labour Day Milestone which we hope will be advanced because Dr. Roussin confidently commented yesterday [July 6]: 'Given the dates we had set forth, we are looking at continuing to be ahead of schedule,'" reads the committee's statement
According to current Manitoba plans, COVID-19 restrictions in Manitoba are set to be greatly eased around August long weekend, with remaining orders set to be phased out completely in early September.
The last time the organizing committee behind Blueberry Jam issued a public statement was back in April, when the committee announced it expected the situation surrounding this year's event "will be clear enough to announce details" in July.
In April, the committee announced it would be following all applicable rules on outdoor gatherings and wouldn't plan to hold a beer garden, food concessions, have portable toilets or sell merchandise. Whether or not those will be allowed if Blueberry Jam goes forward in September was not announced by the committee, but if all health orders are lifted, each could be allowed to go ahead under provincial rules.
"Along with your Blueberry Jam mug and guitar pick, maybe bring a hoodie and warm socks to be prepared for hours of music. And if we tap you to help pull this off, please say yes," reads the committee's statement.
