Amidst a flurry of springtime events cancelling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one staple event has announced a rescheduled date.

Visit Oxford announced on Monday the Double Decker Arts Festival will return on Aug. 14 and 15 after postponing the 25th edition of the arts and music festival last week. The annual event was originally scheduled for April 24 and 25, and this will be the first time the two-day event will not take place on the last weekend of April.

“It was a decision that was made after much consideration with local business owners, city officials, citizens, festival vendors, the Student Activities Association and music talent booked to play the 2020 festival,” said Lee Ann Stubbs, coordinator for Double Decker Arts Festival. “We want to be good stewards of the funds that had already been raised to put on this year’s festival. We also want to give the local and University communities something to look forward to when, hopefully, this is all over.”

The Double Decker Spring Run will also return, taking place on the morning of Aug. 15.

For the scheduled dates in April, there were 180 vendors booked for the arts festival portion. Stubbs acknowledged that the new dates may not work for all of the art vendors, but are hoping the majority of vendors will still be able to participate. For any vendors not able to attend the new date, Visit Oxford will work with them to get a refund and the vacant booth space will filled by a vendor on the wait list.

For the music portion of the festival, most bands were able to attend the new dates in August, though Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, along with Toots and the Maytals and War & Treaty were not able to commit, due to other scheduling conflicts, according to a release from Visit Oxford.

Thacker Mountain Radio Hour will air live at the main stage on Aug. 14 along with Sweet Crude. Chadwick Band will kick off Saturday’s music lineup, along with The Sensational Barnes Brothers, Maggie Rose, Chris Knight, St. Paul and the Broken Bones and original headliner Rainbow Kitten Surprise.

Additional bands might be added to the lineup, according to the release.

“We wanted to make the 25th anniversary of the festival the biggest and best yet, and we still plan to do this with our postponed date,” Stubbs said. “When this time passes, we will be more excited than ever to see you in Oxford and celebrate.”

There will be new additions to the festival, including live painting by Tyler Key on North Lamar Boulevard on Aug. 14, a community stage, an interactive art installation and other activities.

For more information on the rescheduled dates and additions to the festival, visit doubledeckerfestival.com.