Yellowknife’s Festival on Franklin cancelled over Covid-19

There will be no Festival on Franklin in Yellowknife this summer. The one-day event, scheduled for June 19, has been cancelled.

Organizers said on Instagram the festival’s board of directors had decided to cancel as “with the uncertainty of our economy, we want our community to focus on themselves and their families during this time.”

The festival thanked businesses who had planned to support the event.

“We appreciate your enthusiasm, which will help in making next year’s event that much bigger,” organizers wrote.

Northwords, the Yellowknife-based literary festival, is understood to be on the cusp of a similar announcement. Organizers are working to preserve aspects of the event in online form.

Folk on the Rocks remains on the schedule for now though the Winnipeg Folk Festival, held a week earlier in July, was called off earlier this week.

Festival on Franklin had become a June fixture in Yellowknife’s calendar.

The event sees Yellowknife’s downtown main street become a pedestrian-only thoroughfare for the evening.

Food trucks, stalls, and games provide entertainment for hundreds of residents. More recently, Cabin Radio’s dunk tank has provided a popular opportunity for people to soak the politicians and broadcasters of the day.