COVID Concern Cancels 2021 Fall Festival
This year’s planned 2021 Fall Festival was officially canceled in a vote late last week by the Board of Directors for the Castro Valley and Eden Area Chambers of Commerce. The Board said it made the difficult decision to cancel the event due to health concerns about the resurgence of COVID-19 as well as for the safety of all attendees.
The decision was not reached easily, the Board said in a statement noting that the COVID pandemic environment was much different from today.
“Regretfully, we believe canceling Fall Festival is in the best interest of our community, including the students just returning to schools and concerns for all attendees, and the quickly growing delta cases even amongst vaccinated, as hospitals are starting to fill up again,” Chamber Board member and Fall Festival co-chair, Todd Anglin said. “Canceling the 49th Annual Fall Festival will allow us to put our energy into other ways to promote the businesses of Castro Valley and the Eden Area while providing safe activities for our community. We are all disappointed, but believe this decision is best made now rather than waiting. Even putting one family in serious harm’s way during these unprecedented times was not acceptable, period.”
The decision involved finding a balance between hosting this event with not putting anybody (including children) in harm’s way, the Board said in its statement. The decision was unanimous by all present members of the board. Throughout the pandemic, the Chamber Board said it appreciates the close working partnership with local health officials led by Alameda County Health Officer Dr. Nicholas Moss. The Board also recognized the hard work of Todd Anglin and Cindy Torres, both Chamber Board Members, who co-chaired this year’s Fall Festival.
The Chamber Board said it had been working diligently since May to, “assist in bringing back the energy that defines the Castro Valley community, as well as promoting local business and providing the community with quality, family-friendly events.”
David Gehrke, CVEA Board President, speaking for the entire Board said the Chamber’s, “…commitment to serve our local businesses and the community continues to be a high priority for the entire Board of the Castro Valley/Eden Area Chamber of Commerce, and we will continue to look for appropriate activities and venues to serve all of our members. Thank you to everyone who signed up to participate and sponsor the Fall Festival this year. We are already discussing Fall Festival 2022.”
In the interim, the Chamber Board invites people to visit the Chamber website at edenareachamber.org for updates on all community activities as well as services offered by the Castro Valley and Eden Area Chamber of Commerce.
