Lowell Calls Off Its Blackberry Jam Festival for 2021

Changing COVID Restrictions, the Cost of Policing a Crowd Wearing Masks and Limited Financial Support Are Cited in Canceling This Year’s Festival

By DEAN REA/Chief Correspondent/The Herald

For the second summer in a row, the popular Blackberry Jam Festival that jammed Lowell streets with visitors and placed money in community coffers won’t take place.

The festival, like numerous festivals and fairs, fell victim again to COVID-19, which makes it difficult to plan an event that would draw several thousand people to this community during the three-day event. The festival committee voted unanimously Feb. 17 to cancel the festival but put the wheels in motion to schedule a series of events designed to entertain community residents during the summer.

Continuation of last summer’s movie night project drew the largest support. A parade and car show also were suggested.

Members volunteered to get in touch with previous festival sponsors and to invite residents to submit ideas for summer entertainment before meeting at 7 p.m. this coming Wednesday.

Chairman Lon Dragt called attention to changing covid restrictions, the cost of policing a crowd wearing masks and limited financial support as factors in canceling the festival.

“We can still make some of this stuff happen,” said Max Baker, public works director. Other committee members in attendance were Toni Moreci, George Wild and Monica Thomson.

The three-day festival in July 2019 featured musical groups, a parade, car show, fishing derby, quilt and craft shows and food venues.

Longtime Oregon journalist Dean Rea, widely known for his years as a University of Oregon journalism educator and editor at The Register-Guard in Eugene,  serves as a founding board member and senior writer for The Herald.