After a successful four-year run, the Bear Shadow music festival has been canceled for 2025.
While the event, which has been held in the spring each year since 2021, is halted for this year the story may not be closed for good as organizers look to find a new location and revamp the festival in the future.
“In collaboration with community stakeholders, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2025 Bear Shadow music festival,” a statement issued by the board of Highlands Festivals Inc. read on Tuesday. “Based on conversations with community partners, we believe it is in the best interest of the event to pause while we further develop a comprehensive plan for the future home of the festival as we transition away from its previous location. Our priority has been – and continues to be – partnering with the community to boost local business efforts, collaborating with local residents and providing a welcoming experience for visitors. We remain optimistic in finding a new, permanent home for our beloved Bear Shadow Festival. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing our friends and fans at Highlands Food and Wine Festival this November.”
The Bear Shadow music festival began in 2021 as a way to bring visitors to the Highlands area at the end of March or beginning of April. For the past three years the event was held at Winfield Farm in Scaly Mountain, which offered plenty of space for the stage, concessions, parking, and crowd seating.
Winfield Farm sold in 2024, and the festival organizers were informed they would need to find a new venue. The search for a new venue began last summer with several options explored, including a potential move to Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park.
After discussions with the town board of commissioners, logistical issues, combined with concerns about closing the public park for a ticketed event for multiple days, led to the town tabling the discussion for a future meeting – a move that will no longer be necessary for 2025.
Despite its relatively short run thus far, the Bear Shadow has drawn an impressive lineup of musical acts including Band of Horses, Lucas Nelson and Promise of the Real, Trampled by Turtles, and Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors.