4th of July
Somerton plans for traditional celebration
SOMERTON – The city would leave it to people to take precautions to protect themselves from COVID-19 during Somerton’s 4th of July celebration, or it would enforce social distancing measures at the event.
Those options are under consideration as Somerton officials plan a return to a traditional celebration of the nation’s birthday similar to those that took place in pre-pandemic years in Council Avenue Park.
Last July, with the pandemic in full stride, the city staged a fireworks exhibition seen by residents from their homes, and passed out watermelons and hotdogs in drivethrough events. But the park remained closed as part of measures to contain the coronavirus.
Now, with COVID-19 case numbers and infection rates having dropped and people getting vaccinated, the city is looking at hosting a celebration similar to those that brought together thousands of people in the park.
Under one option eyed by Somerton officials, it would be the responsibility of people attending the event to take any needed precautions to avoid the coronavirus, said Brissa Garcia, the city’s special events coordinator.
“That is Plan A, where the event would take place as usual. We have gone through so much during the difficult year that we have learned to take care of ourselves. People know they need to keep distance between them and use masks, so we would leave it up to them to take those precautions.”
Under Plan B, the city would mark off areas in the park where a limited number of people could be at any moment during the celebration. Also food vendors would be required to set up their booths in a separate area, and take steps to ensure distancing among people waiting in line to be served.
“The event will still not be the same as in other (pre-pandemic years),” Garcia said. “We are not going to have the water balloon fight, nor the water slide or jumping castles, in order to avoid physical contact among people.”
But there will be fireworks and live entertainment, she said.
The city has wrapped up the contract with a company that will provide the fireworks and is finalizing contracts with bands that will play.
“We’ll see what happens with the pandemic (between now and July 4), but the (coronavirus) numbers in the city have dropped, and we hope that by June most residents will have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Everything also depends on discussions with the mayor, the council and the city administator, to see how we can do the July 4th event.”
She added that in the event of an unexpected surge of COVID-19 in the months ahead, the city can still cancel festivities in the park.
The last public celebration hosted by the city was Somerton’s Greater Days festival, which marked the city’s founding.