Conflicting reports from the City of Newburgh and Newburgh Illuminated have local residents scratching their heads. One thing seems to be for certain, however: Newburgh Illuminated is not going forward as planned.

Both Newburgh Illuminated and the City of Newburgh took to social media to air their side of events. Neither spared words when it came to their disappointment in how the matter unfolded. Here's what they had to say.

Is Newburgh Illuminated Postponed or Cancelled?

The City of Newburgh issued a statement on Friday saying the massive annual event had been cancelled. "After months of collaborative planning, the City learned through social media that the Newburgh Illuminated Corporation unilaterally cancelled the Newburgh Illuminated Festival scheduled for June 3rd". They continued by voicing their "obvious disappointment", and shared the efforts they put forth to attempt to keep the event on the schedule.

Allegations from the City of Newburgh

Allegations from the City of Newburgh included the Newburgh Illuminated's refusal to accept "common-sense" terms that included specific safety measures while still allowinf the festival to be extended by both time frame and physical area. The festival was to last 90 minutes longer and be expanded by several blocks. Newburgh Illuminated, however, had a different story.

Newburgh Illuminated Responds to the City of Newburgh

"Due to difficulties reaching an agreement with the City, Newburgh Illuminated Festival 2023 is being postponed", began a recent post from the festival. "Our desire is and always has been to illuminate ALL that the City of Newburgh has to offer. Leaving so many small businesses, many of them new to the community, outside of the festival bounds and inaccessible to attendees completely goes against the mission of Newburgh Illuminated", they continued.

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Not only did Newburgh Illuminated stress that their desire was not to cancel the festival but rather postpone it to a later date, their statement also shared some apparent frustration that the footprint of the celebration was not being extended as far as they would prefer. Updates will be shared as soon as they are made public.

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