CAROLINA BEACH — The annual event held at Freeman Park known as Jeep Go Topless Day has been put on hold for the upcoming season until further notice.
Related: Carolina Beach Jeep ‘Go Topless Day’ looks to top last year’s record showing
But it’s not because of a lack of interest in the event, in fact, more than 700 Jeeps had registered for the event last year prior to the big day. But changing geography and uncertainty with the future of the park from the town has led event organizers to put the brakes on the event — for now.
“We’ve been quiet while watching the changing landscape and listening for possible updates to the access to Freeman Park. For those that don’t know, Freeman Park has lost a lot of accessible areas that have caused occasional closures and limited access,” according to the official Facebook page for the group.
“With the ever-increasing turnout to our event and Freeman Park having a limited and unknown capacity currently and for the immediate future, we have decided to postpone the 2020 event until we know more about what is to come for our beloved stretch of paradise,” the post concludes.
The Jeep Go Topless Day event brings hundreds of Jeep enthusiasts to the island town each year and has raised more than $100,000 for charities since 2013 when founder Matt Gillilan and his friends took to the sand. The first event had about 50-60 participants, according to a previous interview with Gillilan.
“Nearly a third of the donations have gone to the Carolina Beach Help Center, a center that helps ‘residents of Pleasure Island who may not qualify for other assistance programs stay put in the community,’ according to its website. Roughly $10,000 has gone to the Community Boys and Girls Club,” according to the previous interview.
While the event is not canceled, the ever-changing beach and limited access is sure to pose a challenge for the beachgoers moving forward.
