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COVID-19 Coronavirus Forces Cancelation of MerleFest 2020; Refund Information and Ticket Exchanges Are Available

In response to directives from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and growing concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Wilkes County officials have canceled all mass gatherings of more than 100 people in Wilkes County through the end of April. Therefore, MerleFest 2020 has been canceled.

MerleFest organizers issued the following statement:

While this decision is disappointing for all of us, we fully support the directive from our county officials. The health, safety, and well-being of all involved with MerleFest are, and always will be our primary concern.

As you all know, MerleFest serves as the largest fundraising event in support of the students of Wilkes Community College. The WCC Foundation, which plans and manages the festival each year, has already incurred significant costs in the lead up to MerleFest 2020.

We need your help. We are calling on all our loyal MerleFest fans and supporters to help alleviate the financial burden this puts on the college in this unprecedented moment of crisis. Please consider converting your festival purchase this year to a 100% tax-deductible donation. This will help sustain the mission of MerleFest and its impact on WCC students.

We will be offering three options for those who have purchased MerleFest 2020 tickets through the official MerleFest ticketing system:

  • Option 1: Convert your purchase to a donation. Convert your festival purchase to a 100% tax-deductible contribution to the WCC Foundation to help sustain the mission of MerleFest and its impact on WCC students.
  • Option 2: Roll your tickets forward. Ticket holders may roll purchases over to MerleFest 2021. This option allows fans to retain the same seat, package, parking, ticket, etc. at 2020 prices. The dates for next year’s festival are April 29 – May 2, 2021. Please consider the roll forward option in support of the festival.
  • Option 3: Refund. If for any reason, you feel that neither option 1 nor 2 is appropriate for you, we can certainly offer you a refund for your ticket order. All refunds must be requested by April 15. We will refund everything except service charges which are non-refundable.

IMPORTANT: All ticket holders must contact the MerleFest box office between March 16 and April 15 to confirm the option you are choosing. Failure to contact the box office by April 15 will result in an automatic roll-forward of your tickets to 2021. You can contact the MerleFest box office Monday-Thursday 12 pm-5 pm and Friday 11 am-3 pm. Here are 4 ways to contact us:

  1. Email: merlefest@wilkescc.edu
  2. Mail: MerleFest Tickets, P.O. Box 120, Wilkesboro, NC 28697
  3. Phone: (800) 343-7857
  4. Visit our box office located in the Walker Center at Wilkes Community College, Wilkesboro, NC

We ask for your patience while we work through the transition process. We will add staff to handle your request as quickly as possible, but it will just take time. Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you at MerleFest in April of 2021!