Sunset Valley cancels ArtFest, working to implement emergency plans at city level

In a March 12 letter from Sunset Valley Mayor Rose Cardona, the city announced it has canceled its annual ArtFest event due to the ban on gatherings of over 2,500 people issued by Travis County.

Early on March 13, Austin Public Health confirmed the first two presumptive positive cases in Travis County.

The letter states that the city has also executed its emergency plan with Travis County—which includes city staff taking extra precautions at city facilities—and is working to make sure city operations are not disturbed.

“A continuity of operation plan will be posted and presented to council in written form at the next called meeting to ensure that city services will not be interrupted,” Cardona wrote in the letter.

According to the letter, the city’s art commission in the coming weeks will decide if it will try to host an alternative event to replace ArtFest.

ArtFest is Sunset Valley’s annual one-day celebration of local art, music and community and was scheduled to return to the city for its 14th year on April 25. The event was set to include over 75 vendors and has had an estimated attendance of 5,000-6,000 people in recent years.

Sunset Valley’s next scheduled City Council meeting is March 24.