Flint Township View

Back to the Bricks promo tour canceled for 2020


GENESEE COUNTY — The Back to the Bricks Promo Tour has been cancelled after the organization considered COVID-19 risks and decided even with the late start in October it would be safer to wait.

The 2020 Promo Tour was re-scheduled for Oct. 9-13. On Aug. 24 the Back to the Bricks Promo Tour Committee Leaders met and made the decision they felt was best for all, said Amber Taylor, executive director of Back to the Bricks, in a statement released Tuesday.

“This decision comes after a thorough evaluation of possibilities to responsibly host our event in consideration of current state mandated event size limitations, social distancing requirements and other factors unique to the Promo Tour,” she said. “They spent the last few months discussing options, talking with host cities and hotels, taking the safety of all participants, the cities they stop in, staff and volunteers at the forefront, and kept coming back to the same conclusion. Celebrating and continuing our Promo Tour tradition this year is simply not possible.”

For 11 years, Back to the Bricks has offered a Promo Tour to kick start the summer. This year, the public health risk brought on by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has put this event, and others like it around the country, in jeopardy.

Back to the Bricks made the decision in May to postpone the Visionary Promo Tour to October hoping the situation would improve.

Taylor said the organization appreciates everyone’s patience and understanding as they have worked through their decision-making process and waited to see how the situation for Michigan and our nation played out.

Participants received notice on Monday evening via email. They were asked if they wanted to move their registration to 2021 and given information about cancelling their hotel arrangements.

Cities the tour would have gone through this year are Davison, Mt. Pleasant, Boyne City, Cadillac and Muskegon.

Taylor said, in her statement, Back to the Bricks hopes everyone can join the tour in 2021, slated for June 4-9. She said they understand this is not the answer everyone wanted to see, but they wish and hope everyone does their part to stay safe and help us push forward through this pandemic.

Details: Visit backtothebricks.org/. G.G.