Denver’s People’s Fair is taking 2019 off

Another festival goes on hiatus.
2 min. read
Erica Brown wails “Ain’t No Sunshine” at the 45th annual Denver People’s Fair, leading Dan Treanor’s Afrosippi Band. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite) music; peoples fair; civic center park; festival; capitol; denver; kevinjbeaty; denverite; colorado;

It's not a music festival, but another big Denver fest just announced a 2019 hiatus: the People's Fair.

Visitors to the website will find this simple announcement: "The longstanding tradition of the People's Fair will be taking a hiatus in 2019 and will look to return in 2020. We would like to thank all of the past supporters of the festival as we work to make People's Fair even more unique, interactive, and a standout festival in the Denver community."

It would have been the festival's 47th year.

Now a Civic Center Park-spanning event with food, music, vendors and activities, the People's Fair began in 1972 at Morey Junior High School. It was organized by Capitol Hill United Neighbors until 2017, when the neighborhood organization turned production over to Team Player Productions.

A representative of Team Player Productions was not available to comment.

Denver Parks and Recreation spokesperson Cynthia Karvaski said the People's Fair applied for a permit but did not put down the deposit when it was due last week. Organizers let the department know they would not return this year. That could make things difficult if and when the People's Fair wants to come back.

"What we have is priority status, kind of like grandfathering in," Karvaski said of the permit process. "Because of that fact that they will not be permitting a park this year, if they chose to come back in 2020 or in the future, they would have to start that process all over again."

This story will be updated.

Recent Stories