Due to the revised Bridge Street construction schedule which was communicated to us in the City’s pre-construction meeting earlier this week, we have made the very difficult decision to cancel Taste of Summer this July. This event will return in 2017.
When Bikes, Brews & BBQ – this Thursday’s event – was moved to accommodate the original Bridge Street construction schedule, the City of Corning confirmed that the Bridge Street work would not begin until after Taste of Summer on July 21. However, once the bids were submitted and accepted, it became clear that the project timeline would require 10 weeks, making guarantee of completion by the Wineglass Marathon questionable.
As Bridge Street will be a construction zone and therefore unsafe for an event on July 21, we considered 3 alternatives before arriving at the decision to cancel the event for 2016:
1. Relocating it to parking lots on the Northside which we felt was not safe for our visitors and businesses, nor would it have the desired effect of exposing visitors directly to our northside businesses.
2. Moving it elsewhere within the footprint of the Gaffer District which would not meet the goal of the event which is generate more foot traffic and awareness for our northside businesses.
3. Reschedule to later in the year which would put the event in mid to late October where both weather and no “Summer” in the “Taste of Summer” would be issues.
Like you, we are very disappointed to be in this situation. We take great pride in being able to deliver first rate events in the face of many unanticipated challenges. On this one, we simply cannot find a path forward that will accomplish the event’s objectives and provide a safe and wonderful experience for our visitors. We remain committed to delivering both Bikes, Brews & BBQ as well as Taste of Summer in 2017.
Thank you for your patience and support as we work through managing this change!
