The organizers of the Annual Mudbug Madness Festival held each Memorial Day weekend in Downtown Shreveport has announced the cancellation of the 2020 festival due to the Coronavirus. Over its 36 years, Mudbug Madness has become one of the largest and most popular music, food and cultural festivals drawing thousands of locals and visitors to Shreveport’s Festival Plaza each year.
“We would like to thank everyone for their patience in allowing us the time to make this difficult decision,” said Festival Chair, Terri Mathews. “It was painstaking as our committee works hard each year to bring our attendees a quality event, and this year would have been no exception. However, we know it is the responsible course of action right now in order to keep everyone healthy and allow more time for the situation to stabilize.”
The Mudbug Madness Festival is produced by Mudbug Madness, which consists of a volunteer planning committee that oversees all festival operations and a Board of Directors that governs the organization which includes other projects and events that add to quality of life in Downtown Shreveport. This includes co-producing the Annual BREW beer-tasting festival since 2009, producing Le Marche De Noel Christmas market in 2019, and refurbishing the iconic Festival Tower this past year.
Through the years, Mudbug Madness has also supported other downtown projects and events through grants including: Farmer’s Market, Shreveport Mounted Patrol, Good Times Festival, Robinson Rescue’s Best in Sheaux, and the Downtown Christmas Lighting program. Mudbug Madness was also the original producer of the annual Rockets over the Red holiday fireworks show.
Looking ahead, the 2021 Mudbug Madness Festival is scheduled for May 28-30. “We will be back!” Mathews said. “And with the music, food and fun that this festival is so known for!”