April's First Wednesday Art Walk has been canceled due to the coronavirus.
Downtown Vision, Downtown Jacksonville's Business Improvement District, which has been hosting Art Walk since 2003, announced the cancellation Wednesday.
"We will determine whether to cancel the May 6 Art Walk in the coming days," wrote Katherine Hardwick, spokeswoman for Downtown Vision, in an email to WJCT News.
The Riverside Arts Market has also been canceled until further notice.
Related: Your Coronavirus Questions Answered; Latest Local, State, And National Developments
The news comes a day after the nonprofit Downtown Vision announced it would be giving away $100 gift cards from Downtown Jacksonville businesses.
"#DTJax businesses need all the love and support they can get right now as a big portion of their shoppers and patrons are working from home as a safety precaution. We want to support our community as much as possible so we are doing lots of giveaways!" read posts on Facebook and Instagram from Downtown Vision.
View this post on Instagram It's the first day of our giveaway event. In case you missed it, we are giving away 20 $100 #DTJax gift cards over the course of 20 days in order to support our local businesses during this difficult time. Even if you don't win, you can shop online with all of the businesses we feature! Support them from the safety of your own couch Today we are giving away a $100 gift card to @wolfandcubjax! ???????????? ???????????? How to Enter: Follow @dtjax ???????????? ???????????? Follow @wolfandcubjax ???????????? ???????????? Comment below and tag a friend who would like this giveaway, more comments=more entries ? Optional: Share on your Instagram story for an additional entry ? Giveaway ends today 3/18 @ 9PM. Winner will be contacted via direct message by @dtjax. Enter the next giveaway tomorrow morning! A post shared by Downtown Vision, Inc. (@dtjax) on Mar 18, 2020 at 4:00am PDT
Downtown Vision has also started a blog post focused on the coronavirus called "COVID-19: #DTJax Open for Business." It urges residents to buy gift cards, make online purchases, and order food through Grub Hub, Door Dash, Uber Eats or Bite Squad to support local businesses, if they have the means.
"We just had St. Patrick's Day and all of these bars, who count on that revenue, weren't able to partake in that. So it is a difficult time for them. And that's why we're really hoping that people are going to step up where they can and support them in any way that they can right now," Hardwick said. "Especially once this passes and everyone starts to reopen, we hope everyone comes downtown and starts enjoying the businesses and the amenities we have."
The blog also includes a list of Downtown businesses that are open.
Brendan Rivers can be reached at brivers@wjct.org, 904-358-6396 or on Twitter at @BrendanRivers.
