With a Road Race in Middletown this Sunday, that will constrict and block access to much of Wesleyan Campus and the surrounding area, WESU 88.1FM has decided to cancel the Annual WESU Spring Community Record Fair, scheduled to occur this Sunday from 10am-4pm.   The Road Race, which brings thousands to the streets of Middletown, weaves its way through the Wesleyan University campus and surrounding neighborhoods down to Main Street. “I’ve been working to develop an access plan for patrons to get to our venue but in the last 24 hrs I have learned that the only viable plan will create undue burden for vendors and patrons.” laments Ben Michael, WESU General Manager. “This is an important event for our community and our fundraising efforts. We feel awful about this decision but we feel it is prudent to reschedule and are working on a date in the near future.” Michael says. 

The popular annual event features dozens of vendors from across the North East who sell Records, CDs, cassettes, and music memorabilia and is enjoyed by students and a wide range of record crate digging patrons from across the region. For ten years WESU has been organizing these events in the fall and spring. The Funds raised roughly 10% of the station’s annual fundraising needs.  “The WESU Community Record Fairs have developed a great reputation among patrons and vendors alike. It pains us to cancel this weekend’s event, but ultimately we feel it is in the best interest of our community to do so.” Michael claims. Due to the race route, both roads (High St and Washington Terrace) that access the fair venue on Wyllys Ave will be closed for much of the duration of our event and the closest parking options for patrons would be several blocks away, making the event inaccessible for anyone with a physical disability or mobility issues.  Beyond that, patrons would have to navigate the race route, barriers, and police escorts to cross intersections to get to our event. Stay tuned for information about a new date for the Record Fair in the coming week.