From their beginning the Concord and Kannapolis Chambers of Commerce sponsored a parade and festival in each of their cities. After the merger of these two Chambers the new Cabarrus Chamber continued to sponsor all four events. In 2000 the Chamber decided that these venues were no longer an objective of the chamber and asked the four chairpersons of these events (Gene Lentz - Concord Parade, Dennis Caudill - Kannapolis Parade, Margaret Dabbs - Concord Festival, and Jane Collins - Kannapolis Festival) to meet and decide on a new direction for these events. The Chamber wanted to combine the events (one parade, one festival) but the chairpersons didn’t want each community to lose their distinctive events. The chamber asked each city if they wanted to take over the events, and each declined. The Chamber and the four chairpersons then formed the Cabarrus Events Association to produce these events. .

Cabarrus Events Association is a non profit organization dedicated to producing and staging family oriented events for the benefit of the citizens of Concord, Kannapolis, and the surrounding areas in Cabarrus County.