Traditional Lodi summer events canceled for crisis

While California has laid out a plan to begin safely reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic, it has come too late for some beloved Lodi traditions.

The annual Music in the Park and Celebrate America events held at Hutchins Street Square each summer have been canceled. Fourth at the Lake — the annual fireworks show at Lodi Lake to celebrate Independence Day — has been postponed until at least September.

Part of the reason for the cancellations and postponed fireworks show are that the city does not yet know if they would be allowed to hold large events by July.

“The governor has indicated that large gatherings are going to be among the last activities that would be allowed,” city spokesman Jeff Hood said.

The state has prioritized reopening schools and several types of “lower risk” non-essential businesses, such as retailers, within weeks as Phase 2 of a fourphase plan to ease stay-athome restrictions, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday. Personal care businesses like salons and gyms, along with churches, movie theaters and sporting events without live audiences would follow during Phase 3.

“(California) will reopen our economy in a gradual and thoughtful way — guided by public health and science,” Newsom said on Twitter.

But even if the statewide stay-at-home orders are completely lifted before July 4, the city would likely need to delay the fireworks show, Hood said — though they do have a fireworks contract and plan to hold the event as soon as they can.

“There simply isn’t the staffing available to do that event now,” he said.

Lodi’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services department has been gutted due to the pandemic, with a significant reduction in staff, Hood said.

The department has not brought in revenue since mid-March, and even maintenance of the city’s parks has been kept to a minimum, he added.

An event on the scale of Fourth at the Lake costs thousands of dollars and takes an enormous amount of work by dozens of staff members to put on, and the city simply does not have the time, staff or financial resources to do that even if the governor lifted the stay-athome orders now, Hood said.

On Tuesday, Gov.

Gavin Newsom anschemes

nounced that the final phase of reopening California will not happen until therapeutics have been developed to effectively treat or prevent the novel coronavirus. Until that time, the state will not permit concerts, conventions, live-audience sports and other large gatherings, he said.

Unfortunately, Lodi has also had to cancel its annual fireworks booths, where nonprofits sell “safe and sane” fireworks for the Fourth of July.

“Another victim of the pandemic,” Hood said.

Lodi residents who get fireworks elsewhere are asked to stick to fireworks that are legal in the state of California.

Aside from being against the law, illegal fireworks can cause fires, Hood said. Anyone caught using them will be cited