Vendors who plan to participate in this year’s Market Days celebration Sept. 6-7 received a bit of unwelcome news in the mail last week, notifying them that they may be required to provide their own liability insurance.

In an Aug. 5 letter from the Mathews Market Days Committee, vendors were informed that the insurance coverage provided in the past by the Mathews County policy would no longer be in effect for this year’s festival.

The committee has located an insurance company to provide coverage for the event. However, according to the letter, as a condition of this insurance coverage, the Market Days Committee must collect a copy of a Certificate of Insurance listing Mathews Market Days as also insured from each food vendor, and make a good faith effort to collect the same certificate from each art/craft vendor who will be participating next month.

In the letter, the committee apologized for the short notice. "We have been working diligently to resolve this issue ...