By Cameron McCreight
Journalism student

The Double Decker Arts Festival has been canceled for the second time in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not having the festival two years in a row has been difficult for the Oxford tourism scene and the vendors and partners who normally attend Double Decker are feeling the impact.

At the Double Decker Festival 2019, a band plays for the crowd. Photo via HottyToddy Archives.

“For a lot of vendors there, this is a living,” said Lauren Nalty, owner of Lauren Nalty Art. “They go from festival to festival, many of them. I hurt for her, as well as myself, ”said Nalty.

Nalty has been participating in Double Decker since 2015. She says it’s worth waiting for Double Decker to return until 2022.

“The decision not to host the Double Decker Arts Festival two years in a row was a major blow to the local economy, but a necessary decision,” said Nadia Thornton, sales and marketing manager for Visit Oxford Mississippi. “When one of your biggest tourist attractions is a large crowd, the worst that can happen is a pandemic.”

Providers unable to attend festivals such as Double Decker have problems with these types of festivals being canceled.

“Festivals are something I like to do. I love meeting people and getting their reaction to my art in person and having that community connection, ”said Nalty.

Although some art events or festivals have been turned into virtual events, it is still difficult for artists to have this community. Double Decker usually has features 100 art 20+ local food vendors.

“I’ve found that sometimes it’s difficult to buy a work of art without seeing it in person. This year has been so crazy and tough for so many jobs, and artists have not been immune to the struggles everyone goes through, ”said Maggie Clark, owner of Maggie Clark Artwork.

Clark was signed up to attend the 2020 Double Decker Festival just before the pandemic brought everything to a standstill.

“I was thrilled when it was not canceled but postponed to August. Unfortunately, as the date approached, it was obvious that with the pandemic rampant, there was no way the festival could take place, ”said Clark.

The cancellation also meant that the city could no longer pursue as much tourism as usual. The usual crowd Oxford attracts during this time is over 60,000 people.

“Spring is a very busy time for festivals,” Thornton said. “Other partners like restaurants and hotels typically count Double Decker as one of the crucial weekends that generate revenue and help them get through the slower times. When that revenue was wiped out, it had long lasting ripple effects. “

The loss of revenue from the festival has definitely had an impact on the city, which can be seen in the tax revenue accumulated in 2020 compared to previous years.

“For April 2020, the 2% hotel tax decreased 74% and the 2% food and beverage tax decreased 53%,” Thornton said.

According to an article on the City budget As of 2019, Oxford City will receive some funding from the 2% food and beverage tax. The income from that tax was $ 3 million that year. The Double Decker Festival is said to receive $ 110,000 of that revenue.

Almost all arts and crafts festivals have either been canceled or postponed. Fortunately, there have been some events other than Double Decker that the City of Oxford could host that have spawned tourism and artists without putting the community at risk.

“We worked with community partners like the Chamber of Commerce and the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council to come up with ideas for safely hosting smaller events,” Thornton said.

For example, although there are no major festivals currently taking place, Visit Oxford was able to host Holly Jolly Holidays in December. The event took place outdoors and caused some pedestrian traffic at a time when it is usually very slow.

Events like this have still allowed people to visit Oxford, eat in the restaurants and stay in hotels.

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