Decatur, GA — Three events coming to Decatur in the fall will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for vendors and volunteers, and — in some cases — for attendees.

Many ticketed events will have vaccine and testing requirements, but that won’t be possible for events that are free to the public, according to a city official.

Ticketed events, such as one night of the Amplify Decatur Music Festival will require proof of vaccination or a negative test for volunteers, vendors, city works and patrons. Amplify Decatur Music Festival is coming to the city for a free concert on Friday, Oct. 1, and an all-day, ticketed festival on Saturday, Oct. 2.

Assistant City Manager Linda Harris said the event on Saturday night will require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. She said all the volunteers, vendors and city workers will be required to get a vaccine. But that requirement will not apply to the Friday night event.

“For the Friday night event, there’s no way to get that ahead of time because it’s a free event, but they will be masked, and they are limiting it to less than 2,000 people,” Harris said.

Harris added that it’s her understanding that an organization will be on site at the Amplify festival that will administer COVID-19 tests.

The Decatur Wine Festival is returning this year on Saturday, Nov. 6. Those in attendance can sample wines from around the world, get taste of local restaurants and enjoy music, according to the event website.

“The Wine festival, because it’s a ticketed event, they are going to require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID tests, for volunteers as well as for the city folks who work there,” Harris added.

The Decatur Arts Festival will also be held on Saturday, Oct. 2, and Sunday, Oct. 3. The arts festival will feature more than 100 new and returning artists from across the country and the local area. The creators will showcase their work within a dozen disciplines, according to Atlanta Intown.

“On Saturday [Oct. 2] for the artist market, they’re requiring all the artists [and volunteers] to be vaccinated. Again, we don’t know who’s coming, so we can’t say, but they’ll be required to wear masks,” Harris said.

The arts festival and the music festival are being held during a weekend full of events. The Decatur Book Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 2, at First Baptist Church Decatur. The city has asked the book festival to consider requiring vaccinations, but Harris doesn’t know if they are going to.

“I would like to see other events do that, especially if they’re ticketed,” Harris said.