by Matt Konkle
Torque Editor-in-Chief
The beach, in the end, will not open up after all thanks to continuing concerns about Covid-19.
Organizers of Jeep Beach in Daytona Beach, Fla., Wednesday announced the event would not go on as scheduled September 11-13 on the Daytona International Speedway Infield and surrounding area locations.
“While we know this will come as an enormous disappointment to all, it is with the highest regard to the safety and health of our volunteers, vendors and attendees, that the Jeep Beach Board of Directors is announcing the cancellation of the rescheduled dates for the Jeep Beach event on September 11-13, 2020.,” organizers said in a posted statement. “ This decision, while difficult, is based on the facts, guidelines and recommendations available at this time regarding the evolving COVID-19 situation in the U.S. and specifically here in Florida.”
However, even though the event itself is done this year, the 2020 Jeep Gladiator giveaway is still set for September 12 and raffle tickets can be purchased on the Jeep Beach website.
Organizers said it became clear this year’s event was set for cancellation after working with many vendor partners who indicated they were no longer attending any events due to travel bans, budget constraints and concern for the wellbeing of employees.
”We support, and more importantly understand, the basis of these decisions and look forward to seeing you at Jeep Beach 2021,” organizers wrote.
Additionally, they also said they felt an overwhelming responsibility not to put the health of hundreds of volunteers at risk.
"The ‘show must go on’ cannot apply here at this level of risk,” organizers wrote.
Anyone who preregistered as a vendor or attendee will have their registration automatically roll over to the 2021 event, currently set for April 19-25. Event organizers said anyone with questions can email [email protected].
This year's Jeep Beach was originally scheduled for April 20-26, but organizers decided in mid-March to postpone at that time and hope dates later in the year would work. Unfortunately, Covid-19 did not let that happen.
Other notable Jeep event cancellations in 2020 include Easter Jeep Safari, Bantam Jeep Invasion, New Jersey Jeep Invasion, PA Jeeps All Breeds Jeep Show and Toledo Jeep Fest.
As for what lies in store for next year’s Jeep Beach, “Let it be known that we are already planning Jeep Beach 2021 as the biggest Jeep Beach Jamily reunion ever,” organizers wrote.
