‘Difficult decision.’ Mallard Creek BBQ canceled over COVID, as leaders plan next moves
Ongoing concerns over the resurgent coronavirus have forced the cancellation of another popular event in Charlotte — the Mallard Creek BBQ.
The Session of Mallard Creek Presbyterian Church said Monday it unanimously voted to support its BBQ committee’s recommendation to cancel what would have been the 91st Annual BBQ, typically held on the fourth Thursday in October. “This difficult decision was reached after much prayer and deliberation,” the church said in a news release.
It said it was concerned about the health and safety of church volunteers and customers.
The event attracts thousands of customers each year, as well as politicians looking to meet potential voters ahead of Election Day in November. This is the second consecutive year that COVID-19 has forced organizers to scrap the event.
Church leaders said they considered other options short of cancellation, including drive-thru only service, spaced out seating or a scaled down program. But the work it takes to make its slow-roasted pork, Brunswick stew and coleslaw required close contact by church volunteers for a week,and there was no way to accomplish that while keeping people safe, the church said in its statement.
The church said it hopes to bring the event back in October 2022.
Other events postponed, canceled over COVID
Elsewhere around the Charlotte region, the resurgence of COVID-19, fueled by the delta variant, has also caused a number of other annual events to either be postponed, modified or canceled.
▪ That includes Charlotte Pride events. Activities for August and September were postponed due to rising COVID-19 rates, while vaccine and mask requirements have also been added for the indoor events rescheduled to October.
▪ The Charlotte SHOUT! festival was scrapped for this year, and organizers hope to bring it back in 2022.
▪ The annual Yiasou Greek Festival in Charlotte announced recently that it will be a drive-thru only event.
▪ Also on Monday, organizers of downtown Hickory’s annual Oktoberfest said that three-day event was canceled.
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 8:15 AM.
