The Lancaster Festival is not eligible for state disaster relief funding, despite recent reports of flood relief coming to Fairfield County.
The festival is assessing damage not covered by insurance, with early estimates indicating it will need about $1.5 million for recovery and operations, according to a community announcement. The damage includes infrastructure at the concert site and equipment owned and rented by the festival.
This photo shows the flood damage to the pedestrian bridge near the Wendel Concert Stage at Ohio University Lancaster in July. The Lancaster Festival is not eligible for state disaster relief funding to support its recovery and operations.
Fundraising efforts will ramp up in the coming weeks.
“We want to be clear that the funds we received cannot be used to assist the Lancaster Festival,” Jon Kochis, director of Fairfield County Emergency and Facilities Management, said in the announcement. “We know that the community will rally around our beloved non-profit entities and help them in this time of need, and our county commissioners will do all that they can to support these efforts. However, this funding is restricted to specific uses, and unfortunately, the Lancaster Festival is not eligible.”
To donate to the Lancaster Festival, visit lancasterfestival.org/donate.
This story was created by Jane Imbody, jimbody@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct/.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Lancaster Festival not eligible for state disaster relief funding