This year’s Fest for Beatles fans has been postponed to 2022.
The annual Fest for Beatles Fans was the first major New Jersey cultural event to postpone last year because of the pandemic — it did so on March 9 — and now has postponed again. Instead of taking place on Oct. 1-3 of this year, as planned, at the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City, it has been moved to April 1-3, 2022.
A message to the fest’s email list read, in part:
We were really hopeful that we would be far enough along in the pandemic to be able to have our New York Metro FEST in October … but then the Delta Variant changed the landscape. On Monday, the NJ Governor announced new mask recommendations for all indoor activities and events. The next day, New York City’s mayor mandated mask requirements for restaurants, movie theaters, concerts, gyms, sporting events, Broadway and proof of vaccination before entering. This is all well and good for 2-3 hours. But The FEST is a 1, 2 or 3 day and night event. The thought of us all having to wear masks for the entire weekend to try to ensure everyone’s safety, seems untenable and unrealistic for the format of our event; a community of Beatles fans who gather to see friends they have made over the decades, meeting special guests, jamming late into the night, singing with each other in a circle, dancing to the live music, with people flying in from all over the country and the world to be together. The good news is the vaccines are working to keep folks healthy and to keep breakthrough cases mild. Everybody’s safety and well being is of utmost importance to us.
Tickets that already have been bought for the fest will be honored.
Having started in 1974, The Fest bills itself as the world’s “longest running Beatles celebration.” Before changing its name, it was known as Beatlefest.
For information, visit thefest.com.
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