Washington, D.C.’s annual A Capitol Fourth concert will go on as planned Friday evening despite oppressive temperatures expected to climb into the triple digits, though officials are adjusting event logistics and urging attendees to take precautions as a dangerous heat wave settles over the nation’s capital. The U.S. Capitol Police announced Friday morning that the […]
Already beset by artist boycotts, electrical problems, equipment breakdowns, and small crowds, Donald Trump’s "Great American State Fair" suffered the indignity of bad weather, which forced organizers to cancel the one concert they hoped would draw fans on Friday night.According to the Independent, the plug was pulled on “Ice Ice Baby” rapper Vanilla Ice’s show two hours before he was set to take the stage.The cancellation represents yet another failure for what has become a disaster for the administration. Three days into the 16-day celebration, Trump's fair has been wracked by artist boycotts, electrical failures, broken equipment, sparse attendance, and now a weather-canceled performance by a 1990s rap act that was supposed to salvage the event.According to the report, Freedom 250, the public-private partnership managing the 250th anniversary festivities, announced after 5 p.m. ET Friday that the fair would close for the day "due to inclement weather." The organization promised to reopen Saturday at 10 a.m., leaving open whether the Vanilla Ice concert would be rescheduled."The safety of our guests, staff, and partners remains our top priority. We are actively monitoring conditions and will provide updates as they become available," Freedom 250 wrote on social media.According to the Independent, hours before the cancellation, Vanilla Ice (real name Rob Van Winkle) had posted on Instagram calling the event a "once in a lifetime opportunity," promising fairgoers: "We're about to have a great party tonight. This is gonna be epic."Virtually every major artist originally booked—Martina McBride, The Commodores, and Bret Michaels—had already withdrawn from the lineup after the partisan nature of the event became apparent.The aging Vanilla Ice represented the last entertainment draw organizers could assemble. His cancellation leaves fairgoers with little beyond one malfunctioning ride, power outages, and empty state pavilions from the eight states that boycotted the celebration.The fair is scheduled to stay open until July 10th.
