BENSON – The Benson Chamber of Commerce announced late-today they will not hold Mule Days this year due to COVID-19 concerns. The festival will resume in September 2021. The chamber released the following public statement:
Mule Days is such a wonderful time in Benson. It’s one of the things that makes this small town so special. Far and wide, people know about “that town in Johnston County that has a mule festival” every year in September and there are plenty of folks around that remember the first time they saw a horse in the drive-thru at McDonald’s!
With all these good times in mind, and with heavy hearts, we have decided to postpone the 71st Annual Benson Mule Days this year.
This wasn’t an easy decision. The safety of our citizens, visitors, staff, and participants remains our top priority at all times — for any event. Amid elevated concerns of the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) in North Carolina, we have been closely monitoring other events across the state — both smaller and larger than Mule Days. After speaking with organizers, vendors, officials, and consulting our Mule Days Board, we ultimately decided to postpone this year’s event.
In the absence of an event this year, we want to take this time to reflect on Mule Days of the past and we have plans, in collaboration with the Town of Benson, to produce some Mule Days content documenting the history of the event. We’re also already working on next year’s event to ensure that, despite the pause, Mule Days will come kicking back to life — bigger, better, and more stubborn than ever!
Mule Days will return to Benson during the fourth week of September 2021 — we’ll see all you cowboys and cowgirls then! In the meantime, please continue to follow the Benson Area Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Benson on social media for future announcements throughout the rest of this year.
