Fire Island Dance Festival Canceled Due to Coronavirus

The 2020 Fire Island Dance Festival has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual charity event benefits Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The weekend-long event was scheduled for Friday-Sunday, July 17-19, 2020.

Although the event is canceled, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS will support the community of Fire Island by donating a $25,000 grant to the Pines Care Center.

Denise Roberts Hurlin, the founding director of Dancers Responding to AIDS, told Broadway World, “As heartbreaking as this decision is, it has become clear that bringing together dancers and supporters is not something we can safely do.

We are endlessly grateful to everyone in the Pines for their support and friendship over these 26 years, and look forward to returning to the shores of the Great South Bay in 2021.”

Since the Fire Island Dance Festival started in 1995, $6.7 million has been raised for Dancers Responding to AIDS. The money goes towards lifesaving medications, healthy meals, counseling and emergency financial assistance. Donations can still be made to support the Fire Island Dance Festival at dradance.org.

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