On Behalf of the Hope Concert Series We Would Like to Make a Statement Regarding the Cancelled

On behalf of the Hope Concert Series we would like to make a statement regarding the cancelled concert. First of all we would like to say thank you to everyone who bought tickets and drove from all over, your support is very appreciative. So many of you have been very gracious, knowing that we were all filled with disappointment, but yet so many of you has been extremely caring and compassionate.

To the many businesses and churches known as our underwriters who help make this concert possible, you have been and continue to be extremely supportive and for that we are forever grateful. To our vendors who have been encouraging, we thank you as well. All of us made sacrifices for such an event to take place and even though it did not, we must all continue to be sympathetic.

The second thing that we would like to address is the weather and the cancellation. Yes, this was a rain or shine event, and that is simply stated because the event is outside. However, the lighting and the tornado watches that were given for the area changed things dramatically and weather that places lives at risk trumps all opinions. In regards to the cancellation and how that went down are as follows. The production manager for the tour informed the tour manger that the actual power components took on water, meaning that lives were at risk and the livelihood of these ministries were also at risk. The production manager made the call to cancel because they could not power up their equipment due to the rainwater in these necessary components. The rain did not creep up, it dropped in an instant at a very rapid pace and they did not have time to cover these components. We should not speculate, nor question the job of these professionals; we only know that they would not have set up if they thought this was going to happen. Therefore, we are confident that they did everything necessary to keep their equipment dry including the tarps and bungees cords that we purchased for them to use.

Third, we would like to address why we did not change the location, but In order to answer this question we must provide you with some background. This concert was planned for our community three years ago because Hope Church in Citronelle wanted to provide something positive for the young people and the families here in Citronelle. We also wanted to partner with our sister churches in the area to bring unity as the body of Christ to our city. The block party on Saturday was a perfect example of that being accomplished, where two people trusted Christ as Savior and Lord. Praise God! Any church that wanted to participate in the block party or the concert could have. So, moving this event in such a short notice was impossible for us, for many reasons. However, we did look into moving it to Mobile, but we could not come up with enough additional funds to secure the rental.

Finally, we would like to address the idea or the opinion of rescheduling. Unfortunately we cannot reschedule because the tour and the stage were contracted for that date and the only way to reschedule would be to rebook the stage and the tour. This would require additional funds because the other funds that were raised in support of this particular event still had to be paid to the specific personnel. Please be aware that we are still trying to evaluate our financial losses but we assure you that God is in control. Therefore, we simply ask that you remain positive and should you have any further questions or comments, especially if they are negative in nature, that you inbox us here on our Facebook page rather than comment for everyone to see.

God bless you all