Celebration to highlight Gaston's response to pandemic
Two local organizations are holding an event designed to celebrate Gaston County's resilience and mourn the losses many experienced during the pandemic.
C and J Creative Expression and Gastonia Parish Nurse Ministry will hold the celebration on Wednesday, June 29, at 6 p.m. at the Rotary Pavilion. There will be live music, door prizes, free food, and dancing.
The organizers, Lisa Marisiddaiah of Gastonia Nurse Parish Ministry, and Cynthia Stitt of C and J Creative Expression Inc., are part of a co-advisory task force that has operated throughout the pandemic.
"We recognize that the community has gone through a lot of struggles, and so we feel like although COVID is not over, we are ready for a celebration of where we've been and where we are and where we're going," Marisiddaiah said. "To just acknowledge how people have come together through this, throughout all of Gaston County, people have come together and just worked to support each other in various ways."
They also wish to acknowledge the losses that many are still struggling with, "as everyone didn't have an opportunity to share farewells in the way they used to."
"And we want to recognize it and actually mourn our loss as a county," Marisiddaiah said.
Stitt pointed to people who worked to educate the community about COVID-19, assisted with clinics, and those who were forced to work throughout the pandemic, putting themselves at risk as the virus spread.
"We want to say thank you," she said.
Marisiddaiah said that teachers had to pivot to virtual learning and parents who were forced to help their children with virtual school.
"Our goal is to have something completely uplifting, so that as we continue to move forward and have periodic surges that people know that we got through some tough stuff, we bonded together and we continue to bond and recognize that we're not alone," she said.
Gaston County was hit hard by COVID-19. In early 2020, Gaston County Commissioner Tracy Philbeck openly opposed Gov. Roy Cooper's stay-at-home order, saying publicly that he supported the right of businesses to reopen, even while the stay-at-home order was in effect. Gaston County later backed away from allowing businesses to defy the state mandate.
To date, Gaston County has had 863 people die of COVID-19, more than twice that of neighboring Cleveland County, where 404 people died, with 68,449 cases reported since March of 2020, according to the state.
Marisiddaiah said that many in Gaston have unresolved grief. At their event Wednesday, they will promote a COVID-19 Grief and Loss Support Group which will be held at First United Methodist Church of Gastonia. The group is for people who have lost someone to COVID-19.
Marisiddaiah said that their event Wednesday, rather than being an opportunity to lecture people on how to handle the pandemic, will be a "celebration of togetherness and support and resilience."
Reporter Kara Fohner can be reached at 704-869-1850 or at kfohner@gannett.com. Support local journalism by subscribing here.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gastonia organizations highlight Gaston County's response to COVID-19
