The Freetown Freedom Festival committee made the tough decision to cancel this year’s event, which was scheduled for this weekend.
Cheryl Long, president of the six-member committee, said the group wrestled with options for a couple of months before making the final call.
She said signs of trouble began in January around the time sponsorship letters would have been sent to businesses in the Jackson County area.
The vice president of the festival resigned, citing health issues, which was a huge blow to the festival, Long said. This person also was responsible for securing festival entertainment for the two-day event, providing sound, running karaoke and the karaoke contest and handling all details of the car show.
"Basically, he did the job of four people," Long said.
The committee then discovered the person who chaired the parade in 2020 would not be assisting this year.
By February, there was more news that would impact the festival: One of Long’s daughters was requesting her wedding be in the family’s herb garden July 3, just one week before the festival.
After much family discussion and prayer, Long said she called a Zoom committee meeting and explained all of the details.
The Pershing Township Volunteer Fire Department’s participation was still uncertain at that time. The department was unable to be involved in the 2020 festival, so the festival committee cooked and served hamburgers and hot dogs and provided a fish fry in the park.
"In light of all of this, there was discussion of cancelling," Long said.
There was later discussion about conducting a Touch a Truck event with entertainment and food vendors in place of the the regular patriotic festival, but that idea eventually fell through, she said.
Long, who has served on the committee for more than a decade, said she is reluctant to declare this to be the end of the July festival, which dates to the 1880s.
"But without community involvement, I don’t see how we can continue," she said.
Long’s 11 children have been heavily involved in running the festival for years, but most are grown now and have married with a couple of them moving as far away as Germany.
Though the rest of the family was willing to pitch in and help, they agree that with the wedding and other circumstances, there was a lot of added stress this year.
"I think everyone was relieved once we canceled," Long said.
Moving forward, Long said she isn’t opposed to serving as president or being more in the background on the committee.
"However, several of us have realized the festival will need to undergo some serious change and would need much more community participation," she said.
"The Freetown festival is different than any other festival in Jackson County in that it began years ago as the community gathered for an annual picnic, as it was called back in the day," she said. "It was never supposed to be a committee hosting an event for the community but rather the community coming together for a festival."
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Anyone interested in helping with a potential 2022 Freetown Freedom Festival should send a message via facebook.com/freetownfestival or text Cheryl Long at 812-525-5105 to be contacted later this fall.
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