DIY Festival Takes a Year Off

DIY Festival Takes a Year Off
(Crystal A. Proxmire, May 9, 2014)
 
To the sadness of thousands of art, music and community lovers, the annual DIY Festival will not be taking place this summer.
Chris and Krista Johnson made the difficult decision after learning that there would be construction on E. 9 Mile Road that would create significant complication for both the event and for the city.
DIY fills a large section of E. 9 Mile – including two streets and two city parking lots – with dozens of vendor booths, multiple sound stages and even a Farris wheel.
In a statement released Thursday, organizer Christ Johnston said “The DIY Street Fair is an event that celebrates community. In the interest of being a good neighbor, we have come to the difficult, yet inevitable conclusion that DIY 2014 should be cancelled.
“We were informed by the City of Ferndale that East 9 Mile between Woodward Avenue and Hilton Road would be shut down for resurfacing and other improvements during the months surrounding and including DIY. We feel that due to street closures and construction issues, DIY would put additional and unnecessary strain on our neighbors, both businesses and residents, city services, police and fire, as well as commuters would already have trouble getting around town. Adding an event of this magnitude could make it even more challenging. The safety and well-being of our neighbors and residents could be compromised if we moved forward with our event.
“We pour our hearts into DIY and we know how much it means to everyone. We appreciate all of the support and we apologize for the broken hearts and inconvenience. We can all look forward to the triumphant return of DIY in 2015.”

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