The Grand Avenue Business Association announced Tuesday that St. Paul’s 2019 Grand Old Day festivities are canceled.

In an email to members of the association and on the group’s Facebook page, association interim president Allison Penner-Hurst said: “It was a difficult and unanimous decision but one that the board of directors made to keep the event fresh for 2020.”

Penner-Hurst said by phone Tuesday afternoon that the GABA board voted Monday to “take a step back” and cancel the event to “revamp, restructure and focus on next year.”

The cost of producing the event has gone up, Penner-Hurst said, but money coming in wasn’t meeting costs. She declined to say how big the shortfall is.

Although Grand Old Day appears to have been profitable at least through 2016, GABA has run deficits in excess of $11,000 every year since 2012, according to IRS form 990s collected by ProPublica.

The one-day festival, which stretches 30 blocks and draws more than 200,000 people, is the organization’s signature event. It includes the first parade of the summer and “districts” focused on entertainment, arts and culture, family fun, and sports and wellness.

The 2019 festival was scheduled to take place June 2 and would have been the 46th Grand Old Day. This year marks the first time the event has been canceled.

SALES BOOST

Many Grand Avenue small-business owners depend on the annual sales boost they see on Grand Old Day.

Jeremy Nilson opened his board game store, the Gaming Goat, on Grand Avenue in September 2017. Grand Old Day was his second-best sales day last year, only narrowly bested by Black Friday.

“It far exceeded any expectations I had for the day,” Nilson said of Grand Old Day. “I expected a lot of exposure and walk-through traffic, but I didn’t expect the sales I had.”

He had already ordered extra inventory for this summer’s event, and he was shocked to learn of its last-minute cancellation.

“It makes my summer a lot sadder,” Nilson said. “I had no idea that there was even a possibility that this was going to happen.”

Crowds pack Grand Avenue for Grand Old Day on June 3, 2018. The Grand Avenue Business Association announced that the one-day festival scheduled for June 2, 2019, would be canceled. (Julio Ojeda-Zapata / Pioneer Press)

Young people congregate outside Billy's on Grand Old Day in St. Paul on June 3, 2018. (Julio Ojeda-Zapata / Pioneer Press)

"Get your picture taken with giant cigars!" Some at Grand Old Day St. Paul on June 3, 2018, found this pitch irresistible. (Julio Ojeda-Zapata / Pioneer Press)

Those in search of political and social causes at Grand Old Day in St. Paul on June 3, 2018, would have had no trouble finding them. These included a push to legalize marijuana in Minnesota. (Julio Ojeda-Zapata / Pioneer Press)

Prudence the corgi seemed to be enjoying Grand Old Day in St. Paul on June 3, 2018, though she was a bit hot. (Julio Ojeda-Zapata / Pioneer Press)



Dillinger, the dog in shades, had little trouble drawing admirers at Grand Old Day in St. Paul on June 3, 2018. (Julio Ojeda-Zapata / Pioneer Press)

Dillinger, sporting shades, was among the most popular visitors at Grand Old Day in St. Paul on June 3, 2018. (Julio Ojeda-Zapata / Pioneer Press)

With no sign of trouble at Grand Old Day in St. Paul on June 3, 2018, these officers and their steeds took a breather just off the event route. (Julio Ojeda-Zapata / Pioneer Press)

Car buffs at Grand Old Day in St. Paul on June 3, 2018, could feast their eyes on this classic beauty and a number of others. (Julio Ojeda-Zapata / Pioneer Press)

The far western end of the Grand Old Day route in St. Paul on June 3, 2018, was kid town, with a number of spectacular slides and other attractions. (Julio Ojeda-Zapata / Pioneer Press)



Those living at this Grand Avenue address in St. Paul clearly love flamingos, and were happy to show them off during Grand Old Day on June 3, 2018. (Julio Ojeda-Zapata / Pioneer Press)

If you craved "Star Wars" with a side of feminism, this t-shirt awaited at Grand Old Day in St. Paul on June 3, 2018. (Julio Ojeda-Zapata / Pioneer Press)

Adam Johnson, spokesman for Visit St. Paul, the city’s convention and visitors bureau, said the GABA’s move also came as a surprise to his organization.

“We’re as shocked as everyone at the announcement of Grand Old Day being cancelled in 2019,” Johnson said in an emailed statement. “We look forward to their triumphant return in 2020 and will do all we can to promote the event when it returns.”

Penner-Hurst, who has owned Hush Therapeutics on Grand Avenue since 2016 and joined the business association then, will be the GABA board president until November.

Former president Jason Koenig resigned from the board April 5. In an email Tuesday, Koenig said “the board of directors wanted to take the association in a different direction. They will be focusing on building new membership and working with current members and listening to their needs and working collaboratively with other local nonprofits.”

The organization’s executive director, Connie DeLage, “no longer holds the position,” according to an April 18 message from GABA to association members.

SOME PARTICIPANTS LINED UP

Penner-Hurst said some vendors and parade participants had already been lined up for Grand Old Day 2019. Vendors and sponsors who have been with the event in past years will have first right of refusal in 2020, Koenig added.

“It was a very, very difficult decision to make, and we didn’t take it lightly,” said Penner-Hurst, who added that time, cost and safety were considerations.

The business association will be looking for input as it intends to “rebrand and refresh” the association, as well as the annual event, Penner-Hurst said. A neighborhood collective meeting to discuss options will be set up, she said.

Doubts have been raised recently about whether Grand Avenue will remain a quaint stretch of small businesses, as several longtime retailers and restaurants have pulled up stakes.

Although many of the closures came down to the long-planned retirements of their proprietors, some departing business owners noted that costs and other conditions on the avenue made it tough to stay afloat.

Since he moved into his Grand Avenue storefront between Hamline Avenue and Syndicate Street a year and a half ago, Nilson has seen three departures on his block alone. Only one has been replaced.