It is with sincere regret that we announce that the 19th edition of the New York State Blues festival is cancelled this year. Being a free event sponsored by charitable contributions we are dependent upon corporate and government support to fund the festival. In these tough economic times many have of our supporters have been forced to make cut backs. We made many changes to reduce our production costs but in the end we were just not able to make the numbers work. Our board of directors felt it was in the best interest of the festival to take a year off and double our efforts to raise capital for next years event. As the president of the board of directors I would like to personally apologize too all of you for not finding a way to get it done. I am confident that we will have a festival next year and will redouble our efforts as necessary to see that happens. We are lucky to live in an area that has such a strong appreciation for the blues and know that our fans and supporters will step up to help us continue this award winning festival in the future.