DULUTH — David Huckfelt, artistic director of the Water Is Life Festival, announced Wednesday that the event will not take place this year at Bayfront Festival Park.
"Organizers are already working on the event's return next year in the same location," said Huckfelt in a news release.
The festival, which benefits environmental nonprofit Honor the Earth, has taken place at Bayfront for years and rose to newfound prominence in 2021. Bon Iver headlined an event that took place amid protests over the construction of Enbridge's Line 3 oil pipeline crossing northern Minnesota. The festival returned last year with headliners Ani DiFranco and Indigo Girls, drawing approximately 4,000 people to the harborside venue.
Honor the Earth was in the news this spring when a former employee's 2019 sexual harassment lawsuit led to a judgment of $750,000 against the organization. Winona LaDuke, who founded the organization with Indigo Girls in 1993, subsequently stepped down as the organization's leader. Krystal Two Bulls, who had co-led Honor the Earth, became the organization's sole executive director.
Although Honor the Earth denied wrongdoing in the case, LaDuke made a statement saying she had personally failed Margaret "Molly" Campbell. The former employee alleged that she had been harassed by co-worker Michael Dahl and that organization leaders had ignored her complaints.
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"I am sorry for the hurt caused to Ms. Campbell, and I am sorry for the broader harm that resulted too," wrote LaDuke shortly before Honor the Earth announced her resignation in April.
"With the full return of live music, festivals and national touring post-pandemic, Water Is Life is taking a year off to coordinate support from new artists and align with urgent environmental concerns and extend the reach of this important social justice music festival into the future," said Huckfelt in Wednesday's statement. "We are excited about returning to full force in 2024 with the most diverse and powerful lineup of artists and activists yet."
Last year's Water Is Life Festival became part of Duluth's music history for a particularly poignant reason: It marked the final performance of the beloved band Low with core member Mimi Parker, who died of ovarian cancer in November.
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