Plans are on track for 2021 Summer Moon Fest
It never hurts to be prepared, even in the case something falls through.
That's the situation for both the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce and Armstrong Air and Space Museum, both of which are in the early stages of planning for the Summer Moon Festival, an event thats happened for more than 25 years and is scheduled this year for July 14-18.
"We're planning to have a festival," Dante Centuori, the executive director for the Armstrong Air and Space Museum, said. "We want to plan for the worst and hope for the best."
But the key word is planning, as everything is subject to change.
That's not to say there won't be a festival. It's just that Centuori and Jacki Martell, executive director for the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce, aren't sure what it will look like.
Currently the state is still under a near year-long rule prohibiting gatherings of more than 10 people, but both Martell and Centuori want to be ready should the restrictions change between now and then.
"People come from near and far and celebrate 'one small step,' Neil Armstrong, our hometown hero, and all of his accomplishments as well as small-town life," Martell said.
According to Martell, the event draws 5,00010,000 visitors yearly, and for the 50th-year anniversary of Apollo and Armstrong's first steps on the moon, the event had more than
50,000 people.
Last year's pandemic altered plans, and the festival was modified to meet state guidelines.
"We couldn't have most of the activities that people have come to love and expect of the festival," Martell said.
Martell still did what she could last year under the directives of the state, which included having the Moon Market with its 50+ vendors from around the country, food trucks, having a beer garden and bringing in a DJ.
The museum, under extended hours, hosts events and activities including having astronaut appearances, space-themed games, interactive activities and attractions spread across its lawn.
"At the museum we really like to embrace the event honoring Apollo 11," Centuori said.
The museum tries to bring in astronauts and other space-related guests.
Centuori said he'd like to get the full-scale model of a lunar rover outside and have rocket launches, among other activities
The last 'normal' festival before the pandemic was in 2019, the 50-year anniversary of Apollo 11. Centuori described it as a big deal.
Martell described the events downtown as more of a street fair.
The museum and chamber of commerce are planning the event under current social-distancing guidelines with the same building capacity limits.
Planning using the retractions makes it easier to adjust should things open back up.
"If capacity gets increased by July then it's a lot easier to say, 'okay, we can have more people in the building,' then to plan for more people [and] then find out… they never lifted the capacity," Centuori said.
Currently, the museum limits the number of visitors at any one time to 75, restrictions Centuori said have gone well.
"Safety is foremost with everything that we do," Centuori said. "Everything needs to comply with the state guidelines."