The Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce has announced that the Fall Fountain Festival of Fine Arts & Crafts has received a green light from the Town of Fountain Hills to take place Nov. 13-15, so long as precautionary steps are taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19 to attendees and participants.

Due to COVID-19, many large-scale events across Arizona have been canceled, mostly due to concerns over crowd size and safety protocols in response to the virus. Up until recently, the Chamber had been planning the event as usual, but organizers said they always knew that plans could have changed due to COVID-19 concerns.

To move forward in planning an event such as the Fountain Festival, the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce initiated approval of the event with the State Governor’s Office and finalized plans with town government. The Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce staff created a COVID-19 safety plan, which included a detailed list of various safety measures that will be enforced at the event. These measures include adding sanitizing and hand washing stations, enforcing mandatory masks inside the event and one-way shopping, among other measures.

“We plan on working with our artists as well, in order to encourage them to be responsible for the insides of their booths,” said Paige Lorentzen, show organizer. “[These measures include] keeping people to a minimum inside the booths, sanitizing touched surfaces, taking their temperatures before the show opens, using partitions between booths and many other precautions as well.”

The show will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Nearly 400 booths will line the streets of Saguaro Blvd. and Avenue of the Fountains, offering both art and food options. Additional information can be found at fountainhillsartfairs.com.