The Delaware Small Business Chamber canceled its 9th Annual FunFest, slated for Sept. 12, with the organizer citing delays in gaining state approval.
The director of the state’s Division of Small Business said the door remains open to approving that event and others.
The FunFest at Glasgow Park features a car show and the Championship Scrapple Recipe Cookoff.
“The organizers, co-presented by New Castle County Government, Matt Meyer County Executive, felt the community event could be held safely and bring much-needed support to the local community as well as the small business community and the county had given the DSBC approval to hold the event,” Small Business Chamber President Bob Older stated. “Many of the regular activities were going to be removed for this year’s event to help keep everyone safe. Due to several weeks in delays by the State of Delaware in giving approval to the chamber for their event, though the chamber was able to remedy each concern they had, the DSBC felt they would no longer have enough time to get everyone together for the event in the short amount of time the state left them with.”
Damian DeStefano, director of the state’s Division of Small Business, said staff “has worked with many event organizers across the state during the past few months to ensure large gatherings are held safely – protecting staff, attendees and the public at large.”
“Any event of this size (the organizer initially told us he expected between 2,000-5,000 attendees) requires a more involved review process given the complexities it presents. There were concerns about the proposed plan for the car show, which were shared with the DSBC,” DeStefano stated. “We disagree with the assertion that the chamber was able to remedy them all. Organizers moved to cancel the event before our review was completed, and there were still significant items unresolved at that time. We remain able to work with the DSBC on adjusting its plan, if there is still a desire to hold the event.”
Older concluded, “We were really proud to have put together a plan that would spread the event out over the large area of Glasgow Park to keep everyone safe and limit the amount of people at a time inside the event and really felt that this was important to the local community as well as our small businesses especially outside.”
