Starting with the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament, which was cancelled in progress in March, just about every event where more than two people might gather has been canceled this spring.
Now the cancelations are moving to summer events and Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI) has announced that the Fun Fourth Festival in Downtown Greensboro will be canceled for 2020.
President of DGI Zack Matheny said, “The Fourth Festival events draw thousands of participants each year and take months to plan. Given our uncertainty for what the summer months hold with regards to this pandemic, we have made this heartbreaking decision to cancel for 2020. While I’m incredibly disappointed not to hold this annual summer tradition in our center city this year, I completely understand the need to be extra cautious for the sake of our community.”
Fun Fourth was planned for July 3 and July 4, 2020 and would have included a freedom race, street festival and American block party and fireworks in the First National Bank Stadium.
Mayor Nancy Vaughan said, “Given the current circumstances we agree with Downtown Greensboro’s decision to prioritize the health and well being of our community. We know DGI considered every aspect of how to hold Fun Fourth and we respect the difficult decision they had to make.”
Vaughan added, “City officials will look for a suitable location for a fireworks display where residents can maintain social distance while celebrating Independence Day.”
According to the press release, Both DGI and the City of Greensboro hope that a “Re-Opening of Downtown Greensboro” street festival can be held at a later date in the summer or fall.
Matheny said, “Our small businesses are truly suffering right now. Celebrating their reopening in grand style shows them just how important they are to the Greensboro Community as a whole.”
Earlier this week the Eastern Music Festival announced that all of its events scheduled for June through August were cancelled.
Vaughan added, “City officials will look for a suitable location for a fireworks display where residents can maintain social distance while celebrating Independence Day.”
In other words, she’ll play a tape of the 2019 fireworks on the Guilford government channel on Spectrum. Whoopee!
For some it’s the loss of fireworks but for others the effects of governmental mandates ‘outlawing’ street festivals is depriving many the source of their income.
In comparison, I remember the Hong Kong flu. It killed 100,000 Americans, was highly infectious, and vaccine development was hampered because the virus kept mutating. The press wasn’t in a frenzy and there were no shutdowns. It was 1968.