The 500 Festival is canceling its events through April 11, including a 10-mile race, a private corporate event and 500 Festival Princess Program outreach.
The not-for-profit organization that plans community events around the Indianapolis 500 race said it is continuing to plan for events after April 11, including the One America Mini Marathon, scheduled for May 2.
“This is an evolving situation and we will continue to monitor it closely while also working in close partnership with local and state officials,” the 500 Festival said in a statement. “At this time, we are proceeding with plans to produce our month of May events.”
The announcements comes a day after Gov. Eric Holcomb announcements on non-essential gatherings of 250 people or more. That’s led to a rash of closures and event cancelations and postponements.
Among them is the first four events of the IndyCar racing series. The Indianapolis-based series said it will cancel all its races in April, beginning with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg that was set to run Sunday. The next three events were to be the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, set for April 5; the Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach, set for April 19; and the AutoNation IndyCar Challenge, set for April 26.
“Although we are disappointed to delay the start of this IndyCar season and will miss our incredible fans … the safety of our fans, participants, staff, partners and media will always be our top priority,” a media release from the series said Friday.
The next two events are considered part of the Month of May festivities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The GMR Grand Prix is set for May 9, and the Indianapolis 500 is set for May 24.
IMS is continuing to plan for those events.
The 500 Festival said the following events will be canceled:
- 500 Festival 10-Miler, scheduled for April 4.
- Family Fun Night, scheduled for March 25.
- Education Program Mobile Trips, scheduled for March 17, 19, 20, 23, 24 and 25.
- Education Program Study Trips, scheduled for March 31, April 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8.
- 500 Festival Corporate Member event, scheduled for April 2.
- All 500 Festival Princess Program community outreach activities are suspended through April 11
The 500 Festival is also making changes to smaller private events that are scheduled during that time (committee meetings, board meetings, etc.).
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