St. Paul's Highland Fest Was Just Canceled Forever: Here's Why

ST. PAUL, MN — Highland Fest, a three-day celebration in one of St. Paul's most popular neighborhoods, is ending after 36 years. The Highland Business Association announced the news Friday.

"Every year for the past 35+ years, Highland Fest has been a labor of love organized by the Highland Business Association, our member businesses, and other volunteers and organizations from the community," the associated said in a statement.

"It has grown from an art fair to a full fledged three day event with activities for all ages. It’s an event that requires a large amount of financial and volunteer resources every year."

The board said that the raising financials costs of putting on the festival, plus all of the volunteer hours and planning required, led to their decision to call it off.

"As the board examined the increased anticipated expenditures such as the estimated police/security costs from the City of Saint Paul and the inability to receive Cultural STAR funds this year, relative to projected revenue, the decision was made to cancel Highland Fest as we work to continually align our activities with our mission and strategic priorities as an association," the association added.

"Significant increases in expenditures, alignment with mission, and staffing/operational concerns all led to this decision. The board felt that undergoing another Highland Fest would not only be a significant financial risk, but would also require the association not be able to prioritize direct service and delivering on expected member benefits."

A lot is about to change in Highland Park. In November, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Ryan Companies announced a redevelopment proposal for the Highland Ford Site.

The proposal includes an investment of $92 million for new public parks and infrastructure, realized in part through $32 million in private infrastructure investment in addition to the private investment required to develop the numerous individual projects and $53 million in tax increment financing.

In its statement Friday, the Highland Business Association said it's focusing on the massive amount of incoming development at this time:

"As many know, we are experiencing a significant level of private and public investment in our community and our goal is to continue to strengthen our association and foster a business environment that makes Highland Park a great place to shop, work, play, and live."

Highland Fest isn't the first St. Paul-based celebration to experience major issues. Last year, Grand Old Day's was nearly cancelled, but community frustration brought it back.