After several successful years of the Escalon Color Run being put on through the Escalon Educational Foundation, the 2026 edition of the popular event has been canceled.
The EEF is in the process of disbanding and the hope was for the Escalon High School VAPA, Visual And Performing Arts, Club to take it over. For this year, it had been on the schedule for Saturday, April 18.
However, with the mechanics required of the changeover for VAPA to fully take on the Color Run, officials recently made the decision to cancel this year but with plans to come back stronger in 2027.
“We want it to be something special,” noted high school art teacher Erin Northcutt, who was among the school district staffers working on the run.
Under the guidance of the Escalon Educational Foundation – spearheaded the last several years by April Adams and Kaity French – the Color Run had become a staple in February, raising funds for all schools in the district. Numbers were down somewhat in 2025 but it was still a successful event.
“EEF wanted to hand it off and we had extended it originally,” Northcutt explained of putting the Color Run off until April instead of using the early February date. “There was just more behind the scenes work to take it over than we thought there would be.”
Rather than rush to put on an event this year, officials said they decided to wait and make sure they can adequately plan for and promote the Color Run for next year.
With the vibrant colors that participants run through on the course set up at Escalon High School, Northcutt said it “makes sense” for the Visual and Performing Arts Club to take it over and they want to do it right.
“We want to promote it,” she said, adding that they want to make sure people signing up know that proceeds will still benefit students in the local schools.
She shared that it is a little disappointing to not put it on this year, as they had willing volunteers and “everybody was all hands on deck” but they also want to look at what will work best in terms of timing for the Color Run as well as how to best promote it to get as many participants as possible.
