Fourth a changed holiday with no fireworks, parades or taverns
For sisters Katie and Jacie Eisel, celebrating the Fourth of July has always been a tradition in their family. Every year, they would go to the annual celebration in Brentwood — where their father grew up — and watch a parade filled with marching bands and vibrant floats that would draw thousands of cheering people.
“Today was our dad’s birthday, so the Fourth is really big for us, because we kind of remember him for that. But ultimately, the day itself just makes you feel proud,” Jacie Eisel said Saturday.
“It reminds me what you’re thankful for. living in America and spending time with your family, and it’s just a day that’s important all around for us,” Katie Eisel added.
This year, the Eisel sisters, of North Fayette, said the celebration had been canceled. Instead, they were sitting under the shade of a tree on the lawn at Point State Park with their children, trying to make the best of the hot summer day. Later, they planned to try to catch a fireworks show.
But they wouldn’t be doing it at Point State Park, which is usually packed with people waiting for Fourth of July fireworks but attracted only a few dozen people Saturday afternoon.
Like Brentwood’s annual celebration, the fireworks at the Point was also canceled due to the pandemic, which turned Independence Day into a holiday devoid of the usual festivities in the region and around the country. For those who didn’t travel to the few fireworks shows that still went on — with safe distancing in cars for some — it was a day to relax or host their own barbecue.
Not that there weren’t fireworks near the Point.
At around 10 a.m., boats coasted into the South Side Marina, waving Trump 2020 flags and Blue Lives Matter flags for the “4th of July Trump Team PA Boat Parade and MAGA Rally” that was scheduled for 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Before the Trump event started, hundreds of protesters from organizations including Pittsburgh I Can’t Breathe, Project Matters, TransYOUniting and LGBTQ Coalition came to the marina to “shut it down.”
Dressed in all black and holding signs that read “Defund the Police,” protesters chanted “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA” as supporters of President Donald Trump played “God Bless the U.S.A.” on a boat.
At around 11 a.m., about 40 boats started down the Monongahela River toward The Point as protesters went onto the Hot Metal Bridge in the South Side. One of them, Nicole Basham, said it felt good to see more protesters than boats on the marina.
Ms. Basham, 38, of Grove City, said this is her seventh protest this year.
“We have to get him out of the office,” she said, referring to Mr. Trump. “I actually voted for Trump. I was a Republican literally until quarantine when I watched him every day for 30 days. I used to think it was Black people not liking him, but I realized it’s because he’s probably one of the most racist people here. And the fact that he runs the country makes me want to cry.”
Tricia Cunningham, the organizer of the boat rally, said she thought it was a successful turnout.
“If we have one boat with us, it’s a success,” she said. “It’s amazing, the energy out here.” She said that she invited leaders from the counterprotesters to “sit down and have a talk” with her, but she said she didn’t receive a reply. “Because I was watching the news and saw one of the protester’s posters that said ‘say their name’ with pictures of faces. I want to hear all their stories.”
The two sides met again on a North Side pier, where mounted police intervened. Both groups eventually moved away from one another. Protesters then continued to take to the streets at another protest that started at 3 p.m. in Market Square and lasted for more than three hours before it peacefully broke up.
But beyond the protests that happened throughout the city, streets that would have been busy on the Fourth of July were silent.
On East Carson Street, where people would typically go to bars before heading to see fireworks at the Point, only a handful of people were walking on the sidewalk in the late afternoon. Most businesses, such as Jimmy D’s, Steel Cactus and Mario’s, were closed after Allegheny County shut down bars and restaurants on Thursday because of a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Jessica Hinsch and her friend, Moua Lee, were among the few walking around the South Side. Ms. Hinsch said she was showing the city to Mr. Lee, who was visiting for the weekend from his home in Wisconsin, when they decided to pick up some beer at Fat Head’s Saloon — one of the few restaurants that was open for takeout on East Carson.
At Fat Head’s, kitchen manager Averill “Apple” Grimes said the Fourth of
July is usually packed every year until 8 p.m., when everyone heads to the Point to see the fireworks. But on Saturday, the restaurant was empty, with a skeleton crew there to finish takeout orders.
“Since last week when we weren’t allowed to sell liquor, dining slowed down, and then they hit us with no dinein at all, so our business came to a halt. We’re still doing togos, but not as many as before, not as many as during quarantine,” said Mr. Grimes, 41, of Brentwood.
“The phones should be ringing off the hook,” he said, noting that the restaurant had to cut one of the line cooks Saturday because it wasn’t getting enough business. Fat Head’s was closing one hour earlier Saturday, at 9 p.m., due to the light business. Mr. Averill said he hopes the county’s order will only last for a week.
At the nearby Three Rivers Vintage clothing store, worker Kayla Liedtke said she would also be closing early: She only had one customer.
“I think a couple of our die-hard fans definitely are always coming through to support us, but our normal Saturday foot traffic is around 200 people. But with everything, it’s been very minimal,” Ms. Liedtke said.
Instead, her store has kept busy with internet sales — one thing the coronavirus has been unable to shut down.