UPDATE March 12, 2020 3:45p: The Sun Valley Film Festival has been cancelled since this story aired. Please see our updated story.
The Sun Valley Film Festival attracts film industry legends and novice directors alike. Amy Poehler, Winston Duke and Eliza Hittman are set to accept the major awards at this year's festival, which kicks off next Wednesday, March 18, and typically brings a few thousand people to the mountain community.
Organizers said, barring a big change with the COVID-19 situation in Idaho, where there are still no confirmed cases, the five-day event will go on.
“Unless there is some order to not have gatherings, I think that we will proceed," Heather LaMonica Deckard, the festival's director of operations, said in an interview on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, through a Twitter account dedicated to coronavirus communications, Governor Brad Little's Office and the State of Idaho said the state had not yet recommended the cancellation of large events.
Idaho has not recommended cancellation of mass gatherings at this time, but the situation is rapidly changing and measures such as cancellation of mass gatherings could be recommended in the future. #IDCOVID19 https://t.co/HOO8I3idD6
— Idaho Coronavirus Info (@IdahoCOVID19) March 10, 2020
"Idaho has not recommended cancellation of mass gatherings at this time," the tweet stated, "but the situation is rapidly changing and measures such as cancellation of mass gatherings could be recommended in the future."
The next morning, organizers of Boise's Treefort Music Fest decided to reschedulethe late-March event for September.
The City of Ketchum announced in a press release on Wednesday that a free public party, which shuts down the town's Main Street for one night each year in conjunction with the film festival, will be cancelled.
“While we are urging calm and common sense in dealing with this pandemic, we are also taking proactive measures that are prudent and within the city’s purview,” said Ketchum Mayor Neil Bradshaw. “This is a fluid situation, so for now we have cancelled the two events on public property and will be actively monitoring all future events in public spaces.”
In a separate press release, the film festival said screenings and other programs are still scheduled to go on.
Deckard said the organizing team is doubling down on sanitation procedures. Venues, including the Argyos Performing Arts Center and Sun Valley Company, will be cleaned after every screening, as will microphones; hand sanitizing stations will be scattered throughout the festival locations and cleaning crews will be on site "the entire time."
They’re also in contact with the South Central Public Health District and have plans in place for how to transport people to St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center, if necessary.
Around 4,000 people come to Ketchum and Sun Valley for the festival each year, about 60% of whom are from Idaho. The event's local economic impact is in the ballpark of $5 million.
Shannon Allen, the General Manager at Hotel Ketchum, said it's scheduled during a time of year when tourist activity is a bit slower.
“I would say about 80% of our business is from the film festival that particular weekend,” she said.
If the festival were to be cancelled, it would definitely affect hotels and restaurants, Allen said, but businesses in the tourism industry are following health professionals' guidelines closely and are having important discussions about how to best protect employees and guests.
"No one wants to take a revenue hit. But it's about balancing risk and reward," Allen said, adding that she’d respect any decision the organizers make.
As of Wednesday, Deckard said no major guests had cancelled. If pass and ticket holders no longer want to attend "due to illness," they can attend next year, instead, the festival said.
Find reporter Rachel Cohen on Twitter @racheld_cohen
Copyright 2020 Boise State Public Radio
Member support is what makes local COVID-19 reporting possible. Support this coverage here.
