Freedom Festival Postponed, Refocus on Celebration of Community

     Cedar Rapids, Iowa – June 13, 2008 – Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival announced today that as a result of the catastrophic flooding that has overtaken Cedar Rapids, including the festival’s office and several popular venue sites, it is postponing all festival staff-produced events until later this summer.  Festival staff is working to reschedule as many of the events as possible on or near the Labor Day weekend.
     Freedom Festival 2008 will become a “Celebration of Community,” explained Russ Oviatt, Freedom Festival operations director.   “We will focus on the efforts of the entire community as it unites in recovering from this flood and extends thanks to those who have worked tirelessly to relieve the pain and grief caused by this event.
     “Many, if not all of the activities traditionally associated with Freedom Festival’s July 4th celebration will now be held on Labor Day, September 1,” Oviatt noted.  “Events such as the Freedom Festival parade, FestaFun, Heroes Luncheon and Balloon Glow will be scheduled on either side of Labor Day.  These dates will be announced as soon as they are finalized.
     “The Patriotic Pops concert and Classic Rock Concert Night featuring Three Dog Night and America scheduled for June 20 and 21 have been cancelled.  The potential for rescheduling these concerts in 2008 is being explored.
     Those interested in the status of various events are urged to consult the Festival website at www.freedomfestival.com .  At this time the Festival telephone service is inoperative and messages should be directed to staff via the websites “Contact” function, this is particularly true for Affiliated Event producers who may be changing their plans as well.
     The Freedom Festival staff and Board of Directors regret having to take this extreme action, but have little choice at this point.  The Festival team encourages everyone to observe traditional Labor Day activities and then join the Celebration of Community as it works to further unify our community and region.