Disney cast members, local church host holiday fair for furloughed workers

Celebration, Fla. - Disney cast members who have been furloughed or laid off hosted a holiday fair to try and raise money for those still struggling. 

It's been months since the pandemic started and Disney cast members are still out of work. Many at the event have turned their hobbies into a business by selling handcrafted items. 

"We’ve been there for almost 15 years each. It’s been a long time," said Kim Aring, a furloughed Disney cast member. "You learn how to adapt and it’s like I have to bounce into something else and make ends meet." 

Many cast members are still furloughed and say looking for other work has been hard. 

"It was hard looking for jobs because once you say Disney they say oh when they get called back they're leaving us," said Amber Evans, a furloughed Disney cast member. 
 
Community Presbyterian Church has been working with cast members to put together the event to raise money for those laid off and furloughed. 

This year, Epcot's Candlelight Processional was canceled because of the pandemic, but cast members who would have normally be part of it did a small-scale version of the performance outside of the church Saturday. Singers wore masks and the crowd was socially distanced. 
 
"We know that Epcot can’t do it, now but we can do it on a smaller scale," said Worship Elder of Community Presbyterian Church Kim Hawk. 

A community coming together to help those doing their best to stay afloat while hoping to be part of the Disney Magic again one day. 

RELATED: Disney increases layoffs to 32,000 workers by March 2021
 
"You make magic because you want to make magic. It’s a whole different type of job," said Dena Wenrich a Furloughed Cast Member who worked to organize the event. "So to be let go from that to not be there it takes so much soul out of so many people."
 
The event will run again on Sunday, Dec. 12 starting at 10:30 a.m. 

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