COUNTDOWN: THE YEAR’S MAJOR WINONA NEWS
No. 7: Not this season
Everybody knew things had gotten serious when Winona Poles cancelled the March of the Pomeranians as part of their Polish cultural revival Kasubian festival. The same when the 15th Frozen River Film Festival was reduced to virtual experiences. Yes, COVID took its toll on arts and culture. College and prep sports entered hiatus. No buttery scents of popcorn wafted through the Cinema 7 lobby. Nor was anybody in the lobby. There were no movies. The Mid West Music Fest, a lively fixture since 2009, was but a shadow of its former self online. The Great River Shakespeare Festival was cancelled, although artistic director Tahar Flangan couldn’t bring herself to use the word “cancelled.” “This is not a curtain call. This is only an intermission,” she said. “We will be back for the next act.”
Polish Pomeranians. Brushed, fluffed and ready to be duded up, their parade called off.