Matthews, N.C. —In a unanimous Board of Directors vote, with the support of the Town of Matthews as well as Presenting Sponsor Novant Health Matthews Medical Center, the 2021 Matthews Alive Festival scheduled for September 3-6, 2021, will be canceled for the second year in a row. The safety, health, and wellness of festival partners and attendees remain a priority for this family-friendly event.
“By our estimates, we were expecting our usual 150,000 attendees, if not more people. Given the percentage of unvaccinated people in our local communities as well as the infectious Delta variant, we had many concerns about being able to meet our standards for public safety”, said Chairwoman Julie Bee.
Matthews Alive Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation with the primary purpose of producing an annual festival to raise funds for local non-profit groups and benefit the greater Matthews community. Area non-profit groups apply for the opportunity to support the festival and work assignments for the duration of the festival. Hundreds of volunteers, many of them teens from local schools, work trash collection, ticketing, drink sales, parade production, game management, and more.
Jason Bernd, President and COO of Novant Matthews Medical Center adds, “Novant Health supports the decision to cancel Matthews Alive. The health, safety, and well-being of our teams and community are always our top priority. We look forward to when we can gather again safely. In the meantime, we urge everyone who is not yet vaccinated to do so.”
“Being unable to fulfill our core mission two years in a row is upsetting for our local community”, says Bee. “However, the decision to cancel this year’s Labor Day festival as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic stands as a testament to our mission and love for the people of Matthews.”
“The Town of Matthews supports the decision to cancel this year’s festival,” said Matthews Mayor John Higdon. “It’s disappointing that the number of Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising in our area- preventing us from moving forward with special events like Matthews Alive. However, the health and safety of festival attendees will always come first. Matthews Alive is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year. I look forward to the festival returning next year.”
The Matthews Alive Board of Directors would like to thank the many sponsors, exhibitors, and vendors that were ready to participate. Board members and key volunteers will be busy finalizing details from 2021 and will quickly turn their sights to plans for 2022. Bee concluded, “We work all year long to produce a complex, coordinated event for the town of Matthews. We can only hope that by next year we can return to some sense of normalcy as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Matthews Alive.”
To date, Matthews Alive, Inc. has contributed over $1,600,000 back to the local community.
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