Dear N.J Jerk Fest Family,

The decision we share with you today is one of the single most difficult and heartbreaking we’ve ever had to make about the New Jersey Jerk Fest. Early yesterday morning The Piscataway Township Mayor’s Office decided to cancel the 2020 NJ Jerk Fest Permit five days before the event, scheduled for this Sat Aug 8. Stating that “New Jersey had recorded an average of 434 cases per day over the last week, an increase of 35 percent from the average two weeks earlier”, according to a database maintained by The New York Times. On Friday, there were 699 new coronavirus cases, Gov. Philip D. Murphy said.

We did everything to make this event happen by following all CDC guidelines, Piscataway Township Health Department and State laws and regulation. Unfortunately, this was a decision made by the township to cancel the New Jersey Jerk Fest 2020. You may reach out to Timothy J. Dacey within Piscataway’s Mayor’s office at (732)562-2301 with any questions and concerns you may have over this decision.

As much as we desperately want to go on as planned, we recognize that we must put the health and safety of our patrons, artists, performers, vendors and sponsors first. As we’ve watched the COVID-19 pandemic unfold, there is a lot uncertainty it holds for the near future.

We will come together with good Jerk cuisine, in fact sooner rather than later. We are already working on not only the 2021 season which will be nothing less than an explosion of great Jerk but also on virtual ways The NJ Jerk Fest Family can come together to enjoy music and each other. The medium may be different, but we can and will still share the essence of the Jerk experience.

We understand there is concern around ticket purchases; we are giving our Patrons and Vendors the option to stay on board with us for 2021. If not, a full refund will be given out!

If you decide that you want a refund please reach out to us directly or you may request a refund through eventbrite.com. We will be processing all refunds in the next couple of days. Thanks for all the patience and support.

We are grateful to have a group of loyal patrons, vendors and artists selections for the 2020 NJ Jerk Festival and have committed to this same selection of artists next year, removing the need for them to go through another selection process for a spot they have already earned. And we are grateful to our sponsors, community partners and vendors whose partnership we value deeply.

We look forward to working with you all once we have moved past this global crisis and making many happy memories together again in 2021.

Sincerely, NJ Jerk Fest Team

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