Party on the Pavement cancelled Saturday over weather safety concerns

Originally published by Racine County Eye.

The short version:

Downtown Racine Corporation cancelled Party on the Pavement on Saturday, Sept. 19, saying weather alerts, potential thunderstorms and lightning made it unsafe to hold the normally rain-or-shine festival. The National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect for Racine County until 7 p.m. Saturday, with widespread rainfall of 2 to 4 inches forecast and locally higher totals of 5 to 6 inches; a beach hazards statement warning of life-threatening waves ran through Tuesday evening. No severe thunderstorm warning was in effect. All vendors will receive a full refund of their vendor fee, though the organization did not say how long refunds would take. The festival is not being rescheduled, because it requires months of planning including city street closure approvals and public safety coordination.

Downtown Racine Corporation cancelled Party on the Pavement on Saturday, Sept. 19, citing weather alerts and the risk of thunderstorms and lightning.

The organization said the decision followed monitoring of the weather, conversations with staff, entertainment and production partners, and a review of current National Weather Service alerts and the forecast.

Why the rain-or-shine festival was called off

The festival is normally a rain-or-shine event, and the organization said it was prepared to go forward in rain. Saturday’s conditions went beyond rain, it said — the combination of the current weather alerts, potential thunderstorms and lightning, and the inability to safely provide the entertainment and overall event experience promised made cancellation the responsible decision.

The safety of our vendors, entertainers, downtown businesses, staff and thousands of attendees has to come first.

Downtown Racine Corporation

Flood watch in effect through Saturday evening

Downtown Racine Corporation did not specify which alerts it reviewed. Three were posted for Racine County on Saturday morning by the National Weather Service office in Milwaukee/Sullivan: a flood watch, a beach hazards statement and a hazardous weather outlook. No severe thunderstorm warning was in effect.

The flood watch, issued at 3:56 a.m. Saturday, runs until 7 p.m. Forecasters said flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible across Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Walworth, Waukesha and Jefferson counties in southeast Wisconsin, along with Dane, Green, Iowa, Lafayette and Rock counties in south central Wisconsin. Excessive runoff may cause flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.

Rounds of showers and storms with heavy rainfall were expected to linger into Saturday morning, moving through areas that had already received heavy rain, with another 1 to 2 inches possible. Forecasters warned of additional storms with heavy rainfall potential later in the day into early evening.

The hazardous weather outlook issued Saturday morning put widespread rainfall totals in the 2 to 4 inch range, with locally higher totals of 5 to 6 inches. Urban and small stream flooding, ponding of water and rises on rivers are all possible, forecasters said, and flash flooding is possible where storms track repeatedly.

A beach hazards statement issued at 4:04 a.m. Saturday covers Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee and Sheboygan counties and runs through Tuesday evening. Forecasters warned of life-threatening waves of 4 to 8 feet Saturday, building to 8 to 12 feet Sunday and Sunday night, with dangerous currents expected throughout. The weather service advised people to stay out of the water and away from piers and breakwalls, citing strong structural and longshore currents and possible rip currents.

At Racine’s Batten International Airport, conditions at 6:53 a.m. Saturday were light rain and 62 degrees, with humidity at 93% and southeast winds of 14 mph gusting to 28 mph.

The weather service advised people in flood-prone areas to monitor later forecasts, watch for possible flood warnings and be prepared to act should flooding develop. More guidance is available on the National Weather Service flood safety page. Racine County was also under a flood watch issued Friday.

Vendors will receive full refunds

All Party on the Pavement vendors will receive a full refund of their vendor fee, the organization said. Staff will begin working through that process, and the organization asked for patience given the number of refunds involved. It did not say how long refunds would take.

The organization acknowledged the work vendors had put in, saying many had purchased inventory, prepared food, scheduled staff and spent hours getting ready. It said it was incredibly disappointed as well.

Why Party on the Pavement isn’t being rescheduled

The organization said it knew many people were asking why the festival could not simply be moved to Sunday or another weekend. An event of that size requires months of advance planning, it said, including city street closure approvals, public safety coordination, entertainment, vendors, bands and production — pieces it said cannot be recreated on short notice.

The safety of our vendors, entertainers, downtown businesses, staff and thousands of attendees has to come first.

Downtown Racine Corporation