WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM
MARCH 9 -15, 2022 UCW 13
COVER STORY
e Fayetteville Beach Music Festival
is returning after being on a hiatus for
several years. e day-long festival will
be bringing beach music and family fun
later this month.
e festival is a fundraiser for the
Karen Chandler Trust - a local non-prof-
it charity that started over 20 years ago.
KCT helps support local cancer patients
that are currently undergoing treatment.
at support ranges from helping with
car rides to treatments and doctor's ap-
pointments to paying off utility bills, car
payments, mortgages and rents.
"We have given over one million
dollars away to cancer patients," Mike
Chandler, a founding member of KCT,
said. "99.9% of all the funds raised go to
cancer patients."
Chandler helped form the Karen
Chandler Trust in honor of his late
sister. Karen Chandler, a mother of two
and a local musician, was diagnosed
with breast cancer. Local musicians
held a benefit concert to raise money to
help pay off medical bills while she was
fighting against cancer. After she passed
away in 1999 at age 44, the leftover
money was used to form the KCT.
In 2021, the KCT raised and distrib-
uted close to $150,000 to Cumberland
County cancer patients.
e benefit concerts were a tradition
for many years and helped continue to
raise money, but they were phased out
a few years ago. Mike Chandler decided
it was time to bring back the music
component to fundraise, and he wants
to make sure it sticks this time.
"We are going to try and do this as
an annual event. I tried to bring it back
down to a local level. I wanted to bring
that back," Chandler said.
All proceeds from the festival go
directly to KCT and that money will be
distributed to people in the community
who need it.
To qualify to receive help from the
KCT, a cancer patient must be a resident
of Cumberland County and have a letter
from a social worker or a medical pro-
vider confirming cancer treatment.
e festival will take place at Dirtbag
Ales Brewery & Taproom. Chandler says
he is excited to have the music festival
at Dirtbag Ales as they offer plenty of
parking, space, and shade, allowing
everyone to pull a lawn chair up and
enjoy the day.
For Shannon Loper, the operations
manager and event and marketing
coordinator at Dirtbag Ales Brewery,
supporting KCT as the venue for the
Beach Music Festival was a no-brainer
for Dirtbag Ales. e non-profit helped
Loper's parents when their neighbor-
hood put in a new sewer system, and
they received an unexpected bill for a
$5,000 connection fee.
"My dad was in stage four pancreatic
cancer, and obviously, cancer ruins your
credit if you're not fortunate. And they
did not have the money," Loper said.
"PWC began repossession proceedings
on my parent's house, and the Karen
Chandler Trust came in and paid their
$5,000 utility bill."
All festival performers have a personal
connection with the KCT, and all are
local musicians. Rivermist will kick off
the festival at 1 p.m. Classic Soul takes
the stage at 2:15 p.m. e Martin Davis
Band featuring a founding member of
e Embers, Jackie Gore, will begin their
performance at 3:45 p.m. Finally, the
Chairmen of the Board will close out the
fundraiser with their performance start-
ing at 5:30 p.m.
e festival will be a family-friendly
affair with games, sponsor tables and
bounce houses for kids. Food will also
be available for purchase. e food
trucks currently confirmed for the fes-
tival are Smokey's BBQ, R Burger, Ragin
Rooster and 32 Degrees Ice Cream.
"People can bring their kids, their
dogs, their lawn chairs and come on out
and enjoy it," Chandler told Up & Com-
ing Weekly.
Chandler's goal is to have anywhere
from two thousand to four thousand
people attend the festival.
"Our goal is to raise $40,000," Chan-
dler said.
e event is being sponsored in
part by Cape Fear Valley Hospital and
Dragon's Lair Comics.
e festival will take place on March
27. Gates will open at noon, and the mu-
sic will start at 1 p.m. e Beach Music
Festival will run until 7 p.m. General
Admission to the festival is $20, and
children under 12 get in for free.
Tickets can be purchased at
www.eventbrite.com/e/karen-
chandler-trust-beach-music-festival-
tickets-272318210097 or simply scan the
QR Code above.
For more information about the Karen
Chandler Trust, whether to donate or
volunteer, call 910-578-3382 or visit their
website, karenchandlertrust.com.
Fayetteville charity Beach Music Festival returns
by HANNAH LEE
HANNAH LEE, Assistant Editor.
COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin-
gweekly.com. 910-484-6200.
Above: Karen Chandler, a mother of two and a local musician, poses with her gui-
tar. Chandler was diagnosed with breast cancer and passed away in 1999 at age 44.
(Photo courtesy of the Karen Chandler Trust.). Below: Scan the QR Code to buy tickets.
Spectators sitting in lawn chairs and on blankets at Festival Park to enjoy a music
festival held by the Karen Chandler Trust. e festivals are held to fundraise in support
of local cancer patients. (Photo courtesy of the Karen Chandler Trust.).
