Oregon's Pickathon music festival is the latest big event to succumb to the coronavirus pandemic. As first reported by Willamette Week, the music and arts festival in Happy Valley said it can't safely go on, as scheduled in late July, citing the latest guidance from Gov. Kate Brown, in their decision.
"The health and safety of our Pickathon community will always come first and we stand with Governor Kate Brown in her directive to postpone large gatherings through September," the festival said Monday in a statement on their website titled "Pickathon Reemergence 2021."
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Festival organizers characterize the decision less as a cancellation, and more as a postponement until summer of 2021.
They're emphasizing two options for ticket holders: donating the value of tickets to the festival, or transferring the tickets to next summer. Such preferred options have been offered elsewhere, such as by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, when it canceled its 2020 season last week.
Simply getting a full refund for your Pickathon tickets seems unlikely. The festival statement said flat-out “we cannot issue refunds,” but then went on to say they can offer some relief for people in particularly tough situations.
“If you find yourself in a situation of extreme hardship that is an imminent threat to your financial security, we will do what we can in our extremely limited ability to help,” the festival said, including a link to an “emergency refund request form.”