Galt cancels July 4th festivities, fireworks
GALT — With large events and gatherings expected to be restarted in Stage 4 of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “Roadmap to Recovery,” one of Galt’s most popular summer events has been canceled.
The City of Galt announced on its website and social media pages Wednesday that its annual Independence Day celebration has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“When the governor laid out his stages, this whole thing fell under Stage 4, and we’re not even into Stage 2b,” Galt Parks and Recreation Director Armando Solis said. “And at this point, we don’t know when Stage 4 will be. We just didn’t see realistically that we’d get to that stage by July 4.”
Independence Day festivities in Galt encompass an entire day on July 4, kicking off with the Officer Kevin Tonn 5K Run at 8 a.m.
Activities throughout the day include a parade featuring some 50 floats, a Kids’ Zone with fun and games, and of course the fireworks display later that night.
Solis said the city begins planning the day in January, booking live music, food and drink vendors and interactive amenities such as an inflatable rock wall that is popular among fitness enthusiasts.
He said it costs the city about $30,000 to plan and produce the event, which is attended by nearly 17,000 each year.
“We want to assure you that this decision was not one made lightly, we are incredibly saddened to cancel one of our most popular community events,” Mayor Paul Sandhu said in a media statement released Wednesday. “However, the safety of our residents, visitors, staff, and volunteers is of paramount importance. These events are traditions in our community which exemplify the spirit of Galt. We look forward to celebrating with our community when it is safe and appropriate.”
Galt residents commenting on the city’s Facebook page expressed frustration with the announcement the entire day was canceled.
“I am so disappointed in this decision,” Kassandra Eyer said. “Fireworks can be seen from some homes, why not put on a show and give some people some joy and normalcy. Others could watch from their cars? And the parade? Reroute the parade to go through neighborhoods? This part would cost the city zero dollars and would not encourage social gathering in any way. So much for living in a ‘Small American Town.’”
Others agreed with Eyer, commenting that while the 5K run and parade could be canceled, there were other ways to still let residents
watch the fireworks display in the evening.
“The city should still do the firework show,” Markie Jimena Begnaud Cunningham said. “We’ve always watched it from our backyard. Just don’t open Veterans Field. People can watch from their cars or homes. This is so lame let’s just suck every little ounce of fun from all the kids that have been stuck in the house since March.”
Despite festivities being canceled, nonprofit organizations will still be allowed to rent sales booths for fireworks in Galt.
According to a statement from the city, booth operators will be required to adhere to social distancing guidelines when they begin selling the safe and sane fireworks to residents.
Booths will be built the last week of June, Solis said, and fireworks sales will begin about 10 days before Independence Day.
He said the city is following Sacramento County’s lead in permitting booths to sell fireworks, which will have its own group of nonprofit organizations set up on land it owns within Galt.
However, if state and county public health orders change for the worse,
Solis said fireworks sales may be canceled as well.
Last month, the City of Lodi announced it would cancel its Independence Day fireworks show as well because of the COVID-19 pandemic and public health orders issued by the state and San Joaquin County.
Unlike Galt, the city will not allow nonprofits to sell safe and sane fireworks this year.
City spokesman Jeff Hood said nonprofits who are awarded booths during a lottery selection typically have to complete a fireworks training class with the Lodi Fire Department. The COVID-19 pandemic will not allow the department to conduct the class this year, he said.
The difficulty to ensure booth operators would make sure social distancing guidelines are followed was a factor as well, he said.
“The fire department just doesn’t have the capacity to do that this year,” he said. “With all the COVID19 stuff they have to attend to and deal with, it just didn’t make sense to try to make it happen, and we just didn’t want to put the firefighters at risk, or those who might attend the class.”