You know… sometimes it happens. Celebrate Petworth is canceled for this year.

It rained on the very first Celebrate Petworth Festival, but it was a gentle rain. Tomorrow, September 23rd, is supposed to be really high winds (up to 45mph) and upwards of 2-3 inches of rain throughout the day. For safety’s sake, the organizers have decided to cancel the Festival.

Here’s the official message:

We're sad to announce that Celebrate Petworth tomorrow has been cancelled.

Unfortunately, due to the impending weather, Celebrate Petworth 2023 has been cancelled. We know many people were very much looking forward to this annual event (as were we!) and we're devastated to have to cancel it. However, while rain itself would never deter us from holding the festival, the forecast from the National Weather Service is showing a high likelihood of very heavy winds that would create dangerous weather conditions and an unsafe environment for vendors and attendees.

We thank the entire Celebrate Petworth planning committee who has worked for months on this event, as well as the sponsors, performers, vendors, exhibitors, and all of those who were so excited to attend.

We are working with the city, our equipment suppliers, and our vendors to explore the possibility of rescheduling for later this year and will share any decision around rescheduling as soon as a decision has been made.

Support Local Businesses This Weekend — They Prepared for the Event and Now Need Your Help

If you can, we encourage you to check out the vendors and exhibitors who had planned to participate (you can find a full list on our website) and browse through their online stores/Etsys/websites. Many of them rely on the sales from festivals like ours, and they would greatly appreciate your support.

The same is true for local community organizations and PTOs who were counting on this festival to raise much needed funds. And of course, the local businesses on Upshur and 9th Street also have been hard at work preparing for this Saturday's festival and could use a show of support.

Shop local! ❤