Mahomet cancels Music Fest

The Village of Mahomet has cancelled the 2020 Mahomet Music Festival scheduled for August 28 and August 29 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

_{Village President Sean Widener expressed disappointment for the people of the}  community, local businesses, and for the sponsors and vendors who support the festival every year.

“With the continued COVID-19 situation and large gathering restrictions from Governor Pritzker and health department restrictions that must be followed, we were forced to make this difficult decision,” Widener said. “It is also unfortunate because there are people in the entertainment industry, our carnival, food vendors, and small retail vendors that rely on summer festivals and events like ours who may never financially recover.” 

For Festival Chairman David Parsons the Village’s decision really came down to if crowd size restrictions imposed by Governor Pritzker and ensuring a safe environment for festival patrons.

“While we had continued to hold out hope that the restrictive orders on large crowds would be lifted in time to have the festival, it become clear it would happen in time for our event,” Parsons said.

“Additionally, we are unable to guarantee our food, alcohol and carnival vendors would be able obtain the required state and health department permits to operate at the event.”

According to Parsons, the event would not be the same experience for attendees without some of these elements. 

The Mahomet Music Festival Committee works year-round to attract outstanding national, regional, and local talent, along with vendors and sponsorships to ensure the festival stays free to attendees.

This year, the festival had an exciting line-up ready to entertain Mahomet for two straight days. 

“We want to thank our vendors and sponsors for their support and commitment to our festival. Without them, the festival would not be possible,” Parsons said. “We look forward to working with them in 2021.” 

“People were really hoping that we could still have the festival this year,” Widener said. 

“This is our one big community event and would have provided a much-needed break from being cooped up for the past few months.” 

Planning for the 2021 Mahomet Music Festival is already underway. Next year’s festival is schedule for Friday, August 27 and Saturday, August 28.