CEDAR CITY — The 2016 Soirée Groovefest Art Auction and Fundraiser planned for Saturday has changed locations and beneficiaries in response to the Feb. 4 announcement the the 2016 Groovefest Music and Art Festival was cancelled.
Festival founder Tim Cretsinger — who has publicly waged a 2-year war against HPV throat cancer since Dec. 2013 — needs time to heal from the painful effects that aggressive treatments of chemotherapy and radiation have taken on his body.
A Feb. 4 press release from Groovefest Music and Art Festival Assistant Director Peggy Green said:
Tim has lost his voice and the ability to swallow, receives nutrients solely from a feeding tube placed in his abdomen, suffered through pneumonia, and recently was diagnosed with Bells Palsy which resulted in having his left eye sewn shut.
At the time when the announcement was made, Cretsinger was hospitalized with pneumonia and breathing with assistance from a ventilator. Since then he has recovered enough from the pneumonia that he has been removed from breathing machines and is able to breathe on his own.
According to the press release, the difficult decision to cancel the 2016 festival came after Cretsinger and his wife Lisa Cretsinger, who helped cofound the event and continues to organize it, realized they could not be as heavily involved in the production of the event as they typically are.
“Upon notice of the cancellation, crew members back the difficult decision and want the couple to put their health and wellbeing first,” the press release said.
During a Groove Crew meeting Feb. 9, the crew decided to use the momentum from the already planned fundraisers — the 2016 Soirée Groovefest Art Auction and Fundraiser and the Groovefest Support Show — to help the Cretsinger’s battle their mounting medical expenses, Soiree event organizer Elise Leahy said.
Saturday’s soiree was originally planned to take place at the Iron Gate Inn located at 100 N. 200 West, but it has been relocated instead to Artisans Art Gallery at 94 W. Center St.
Artisan’s Director Steve Yates has always been a friend to the festival, Leahy said. He accepted all of this year’s art donations for the event and was happy to provide gallery space to host the event. The soiree will take place from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m., the same time as was originally planned.
The Groovefest Support Show will be May 14 at 8 p.m. at Mike’s Tavern, 90 W. Hoover Ave., Cedar City.
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