The Fayetteville Beach Music Festival is returning after being on a hiatus for several years. The day-long festival will be bringing beach music and family fun later this month.

The festival is a fundraiser for the Karen Chandler Trust - a local non-profit charity that started over 20 years ago. KCT helps support local cancer patients that are currently undergoing treatment. That support ranges from helping with car rides to treatments and doctor's appointments 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 distributed close to $150,000 to Cumberland County cancer patients.

The 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 provider confirming cancer treatment.

The 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. The non-profit helped Loper's parents when their neighborhood 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. The Martin Davis Band featuring a founding member of The 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 starting at 5:30 p.m.

The festival will be a family-friendly affair with games, sponsor tables and bounce houses for kids. Food will also be available for purchase. The food trucks currently confirmed for the festival 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 & Coming 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," Chandler said.

The event is being sponsored in part by Cape Fear Valley Hospital and Dragon's Lair Comics.

The festival will take place on March 27. Gates will open at noon, and the music will start at 1 p.m. The 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.

For more information about the Karen Chandler Trust, whether to donate or volunteer, call 910-578-3382 or visit their website, karenchandlertrust.com.