Set to shine
Tower lighting event is Saturday - with changes
The Caballeros de Yuma want people to bring blankets and pull up a lawn chair on Saturday and enjoy Ken and Betty Borland Holiday Pageant and Tower Lighting Ceremony on the big screen.
The annual holiday celebration at Desert Sun Stadium will represent a bit of departure from previous years when dance groups and carolers performed in the infield near visitors huddled in the stands.
Following Centers for Disease Control guidelines, spectators will occupy 10-foot-by10-foot spaces on the baseball field, with up to six people allowed in each space. That’s why they’ll need to bring their own lawn chairs and blankets.
Families of more than six members will be split up into adjoining spaces. Once all 120 spaces are filled up, any overflow crowd will be directed to segregated seating in the stands.
Dancers, vocalists and carolers will be present, but as part of social distancing efforts, they will be separated from the public, and their performances will be projected onto a big screen, in a format similar to outdoor movies hosted at the stadium by the city during the summer.
“Some people will be pretty close, but some will be back, so this will allow everyone to see the performances,” said Frank Saldaña, chairmain of the 2020 tower lighting event.
The pageant and tower lighting ceremony can also be seen live on the Caballeros’ Facebook page.
The public will be required to wear face masks at the ceremony, scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the stadium, 1280 Desert Sun Drive.
The Caballeros also will have tables set up at the venue where people can sanitize their hands.
While COVID-19 has forced the cancellation of a number of events in the area, the tower lighting ceremony will be the second consecutive celebration of wide popularity that the Caballeros have managed to stage under pandemic restrictions.
Last weekend, the Colorado River Crossing Balloon Festival took place under social distancing guidelines at the West Wetlands Park. with the Saturday evening balloon glow seen by spectators in a drive-through event.
“As Caballeros we are committed to having a safe venue for the public and the performers,” Saldaña said.
What will happen Saturday as it always does will be the lighting of Friendship Tower following the performances. Debbie Gwynn, Yuma County’s Citizen of the Year for 2019, is scheduled to activate thousands of holiday lights strung from the top of the tower to the ground 200 feet below, in a pyramid outline similar to a decorated Christmas tree.
Dance groups and vocalists scheduled to perform include Alyse Negroni, Arizona Classical Ballet, Dancemakers Performing Arts, Dancers Workshop Dazzlers, Dawn’s Dance Studio, Freedom Performing Arts, Glam Dance Studio, GWYNN, JAMS Dance Company, Jazz of Yuma, Wendy McKay and the Yuma Catholic Choir.
After Saturday, the lights on the tower will shine each night through early January.
Gates for the celebration open at 5:30 p.m., and the Caballeros are asking people to arrive early to have time to get settled for the performances.
Per-person admission is a canned good or other non-perishable food item that will be donated in turn to the Yuma Community Food Bank.
Owing to concerns about the coronavirus, coffee and hot chocolate won’t be served, as they had in year’s past. People can bring their own hot beverages, Saldaña said, but alcohol will not be allowed.
The celebration, marking its 35th year on Saturday, takes its name from the late Ken Borland, former Arizona Western College president and Caballero member, and his wife Betty.
While normally the event isn’t staged under health restrictions, Saldaña is confident Saturday’s celebration will strike a good balance between holiday entertainment and public safety.
“What I really want to stress is, please, please, please bring your lawn chairs and blankets,” he said.