Kapolei Steel Guitar Festival Canceled

March 16, 2020 • Addison Ching • Festivals and Conventions

Another annual steel guitar festival has fallen victim to the Coronavirus threat. The 2020 Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival at Ka Makana Ali‘i has been canceled.

The festival cancellation is due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and is being done out of an abundance of caution to protect festival musicians, staff and guests.

While the Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) previously issued a set of guidelines on March 13 to manage the spread of COVID-19 in communities across the state, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a stricter set of guidelines on March 15 for the entire country. The CDC, "in accordance with its guidance for large events and mass gatherings, recommends that for the next 8 weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States."

HIMELE decided to cancel, rather than postpone, the Kapolei festival for 2020 so that the quality of remaining 2020 festivals will not be compromised. The annual event will be resumed in 2021.