NEW ORLEANS – The Contemporary Arts Center announced the cancellation of the 26th Annual Hancock Whitney White Linen Night scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 1.
The arts nonprofit said the event’s big crowds would conflict with the social distancing guidelines issued by the city of New Orleans and state of Louisiana due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. The event will return next August.
“We are looking ahead to 2021,” said George Scheer, the executive director of the CAC. “Hancock Whitney White Linen Night is the CAC’s largest single fundraiser, and while funding is necessary, public health is essential. Next year we go big. The 2021 [event] ought to be a block party for the whole CBD, driving dollars to our businesses, raising money for the arts and celebrating creative culture in the summer heat!”
Founded in 1994 by a burgeoning arts community of galleries and museums in the warehouse district, White Linen Night became a catalyst for economic growth downtown. The CAC said an estimated 40,000 art lovers attended the annual art-inspired downtown block party in 2019. The event spans several blocks and features open exhibitions from more than 20 art galleries and institutions, including the Contemporary Arts Center, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the National World War II Museum.