Organizers of NC Freedom Fest have made the difficult decision to postpone the festival’s inaugural event yet again to Saturday, September 18, 2021. NC Freedom Fest is an extension of an event started by the Goldsboro Elks Lodge BPOE #139 called “Wings of Wayne”, which will continue to be a Military Appreciation Festival focused on celebrating our Armed Forces and their dedication to our State and Country. The new date also coincides with the birthday of the United Stated Air Force.
While the progress made through the vaccine rollout is encouraging, organizers believe it is in the public’s best interest to hold the festival in September to give government leaders and healthcare organizations enough time to distribute the vaccine, as well as allowing time for North Carolina crowd restrictions to ease. The festival is officially “Count on Me NC” certified and it’s encouraging all vendors to become certified prior to the event to ensure a safe environment for all festival-goers.
The festival will take place on Center Street in beautiful Downtown Goldsboro, at the newly finished “The Hub” entertainment venue. Platinum-selling band of brothers, Parmalee, will take the stage, sponsored by the Wayne County Military Affairs Committee, around 8 pm. Opening for Parmalee are Tyler Davis, Sayer McShane, and Brooke McBride, with a special performance from Drummers World. In addition to amazing entertainment, the 2021 festival will also feature a car & bike show, courtesy of Wayne County Cruisers, a Kids Zone sponsored by Goldsboro Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, and more. As for food and beverage, the festival is continuing on the tradition of the Wings of Wayne Wing Cook-off, hosted by the Elks Lodge, as well a wide range of food trucks from around the state. Wash down those delicious wings with one of many ice cold beers that will be served in the beer garden, sponsored by Coastal Beverage Company.
The event will welcome a few new additions to the lineup of activities. In addition to the car & bike show, kids zone, beer garden, and “Wings of Wayne” Wing Cook-off, the day of the festival will now feature street vendors and a corn hole tournament, a 5K & Fun Run. Also added to the event are special hours for the Downtown Merchants, who will remain open later during the festival, as well as an ‘Letters from Home Station’ at the Arts Council of Wayne County where festival-goers can stop in and create letters or cards that will be sent to active duty service members and veterans. Applications for Street Vendors and Corn Hole Tournament will be available on our website later this Spring.
Leading up to the festival there will be a few kick-off events in the days prior, such as a free showing of the movie “Red Tails” at the Paramount Theatre, Golf Tournament at Goldsboro Golf Course, “A Night on the ‘Town” Downtown, and “Grub at the Hub” featuring the band Soul Psychedelique. For more details on these events, please visit the website at http://www.ncfreedomfest.org/freedomweek/.
“We will continue to work diligently with civic officials and healthcare professionals as we prepare to welcome artists, fans, volunteers, vendors and sponsorship partners this fall. We are doing everything we can to make sure this event is safe and fun for everyone,” said Doug McGrath, President of the NC Freedom Fest.
Throughout all of this, the NC Freedom Fest would like to give special thanks to its sponsors who have stood by the decisions and continued their support during this entire process. Georgia Pacific, Jernigan Furniture, Coastal Beverage Company, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Wayne County Military Affairs Committee, DGDC, Bekins Moving Solutions, Edward Jones, Zaxby’s, Goldsboro Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, Wayne UNC Health Care, Mt. Olive Pickle Company, Berkshire Hathaway McMillen & Associates, Atlantic Casualty Insurance, Visit Goldsboro, Curtis Media Group, The Buzz, and Hampton Inn Goldsboro – we could not have done this without you!
