Opinion: Festival postponement highlights continued reality
Having a little fun backstage at the 2019 Barbecue Festival with Country music star, Caylee Hammack. {Contributed photo}
A year ago, I don’t think many of us expected to still be living in a world that’s engulfed in a pandemic. When the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the United States, I remember thinking, well, nothing much at all. I didn’t think it was a big deal. When the entire public school system shut down and the men’s ACC Basketball Tournament were canceled, I remember thinking ok cool. Let’s close things up for a few weeks so we can let this thing pass. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Standing outside of City Hall in Lexington on Friday morning awaiting a press conference to start in Barbecue Alley, reality once again rushed in like high tide. “This feels like a never ending journey,” I thought to myself. As Stephanie S. Naset, executive director of the Barbecue Festival, confirmed suspicions that this year’s event wouldn’t take place, I felt a somberness rush through the alley. Having served as a communication consultant and social media Q-Crew manager since 2016, it felt weird knowing the city would once again encounter another October without “festival day.”
Factoring into the decision were challenges the participating restaurant owners were having with staffing and their supply chains as well as the concerns about the raging Delta variant of COVID-19. The decision makers felt it was in the best interest of the community as a whole to not host Lexington’s premier event next month.
As I broadcasted live via our Facebook page, I watched as instant feedback poured into the comments. There were many “Thank You’s” from those who felt it was a wise decision, encouragement from others to those who were watching and some who felt the show should go on as scheduled. Even if we disagree about the decision, I think we can all agree that the last 18 months have been tough.
While many were holding out hope that the return of the festival would signify a resemblance of life pre-pandemic, the revelation prompted various discussions amongst our readers. Once we published the article about the postponement of the festival, the post “did numbers” as my partner and I like to say on the Davidson Local Facebook page. Our post has reached nearly 47,000 people. It has over 5,600 engagements. It’s been shared 471 times. It’s our highest rated post to date.
While there has been much discussion centered around whether the word postponed or canceled should be used, we’re choosing to focus on what another year without the Barbecue Festival means to Davidson County. It means a $9 million loss of impact to the local economy. It means participating restaurants and many businesses can’t factor in what will be their biggest day of revenue for the year. It means we’re still in this pandemic.
More than anything, what I hope is that people focus more on grace than differences. We all have our opinions about what is happening. Even if we don’t agree, it doesn’t mean we have to be mean, negative or spiteful. So many factors come into play when it comes to one’s thoughts about certain situations. It’s easy to be a keyboard warrior but it’s more impactful to operate from a space of compassion and care.
Regardless of the semantics between canceled or postponed, hopefully this time next year my column will be different. The fact that people care so deeply is affirmation of our mission at Davidson Local.
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