A Phish festival slated to draw more than 30,000 people to Watkins Glen International this weekend has been canceled.
With a 14-county State of Emergency still in effect, the prospect of additional inclement weather, and a mandatory boil water order for the Village of Watkins Glen issued Thursday, Schuyler County and the New York State Department of Health announced they are unable to issue the required permits for this weekend’s Curveball festival.
The severe rainstorm created untenable conditions, including the inability to deliver clean drinking water to patrons and vendors as confirmed by test results delivered on Thursday, the Department of Health stated in a press release.
"Working collaboratively with Watkins Glen International and Phish, the County and the State explored all options to allow the event to continue as scheduled, the statement read. "While all parties acknowledge the inconvenience of this cancellation to patrons, we have a responsibility to act in the best interest of public health and safety for all."
The three-day festival was slated to begin Friday.
Phish and Curveball organizers said they will be notifying ticketholders about how to obtain a refund.
“Public health and safety is a concern for all events at Watkins Glen International," WGI President Michael Printup said. "While we are disappointed Curveball has been cancelled, we understand and support the county and Department of Health’s decision.”
The band released a statement on their website shortly after the announcement.
"We are so terribly sorry for the inconvenience that this is causing so many of you," the band wrote from the backstage area at WGI. "We hope from the bottoms of our hearts that at the very least this news will reach you before too much disruption takes place in your personal lives. We know that people traveled far, at great expense. We understand that people are missing work, and changing their schedules around.. we wish so much that there was some way that this wasn’t happening."
