Highland Park 4th Of July Festivities Canceled Due To Coronavirus
HIGHLAND PARK, IL — City and park district officials in Highland Park Tuesday announced the cancellation of Independence Day festivities and other upcoming public events through the end of July due to concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus.
In addition to the Fourth of July community parade, Fourth Fest family event and fireworks display, the Bitter Jester Music Festival's Friday night concert series is called off entirely and Food Truck Thursdays is canceled through at least July 30, according to an announcement from the city.
"This decision took into account the lead time for planning the events and was made after careful consideration based on the consensus of public health officials," Mayor Nancy Rotering said in the release. "The health and safety of our community is our highest priority. Data suggests that large gatherings present a great risk for transmission of COVID-19. We must stay the course to reduce exposure to this deadly illness so that we may be together again as soon as possible."
Staff are working with its contractor that produces the event to look into ways Food Truck Thursday could operate safely, and city officials will consider alternate locations and extending the event later into the fall if possible, according to the release.
"While we are saddened to cancel our most popular free community events, the safety of our residents is of paramount importance," Brian Kaplan, board president of the Park District of Highland Park. "Our celebrations exemplify the spirit of Highland Park, and over the past several weeks, we have seen that spirit shine as we face this challenging time together."
City staff cited April 9 comments by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in response to a question about planning for large summer events.
"I do not see how we are going to have large gatherings of people again until we have a vaccine, which is months and months away," Pritzker said. "I would not risk having large groups of people getting together anywhere, and I think that's hard for everybody to hear, but that's just a fact. Even with testing and tracing and treating as is necessary for us to begin to make changes, it isn't enough for me to say that it's okay to have a big festival with a whole bunch of people gathering together."
Even under the next phase of Pritzker's five-part "Restore Illinois" plan, gatherings would still be limited to 10 people. The fourth stage, which would also see the reopening of schools, restaurants and bars, would allow for gatherings of up to 50 people, the governor announced Tuesday.
Highland Park's decision to cancel Fourth of July festivities follows similar moves by officials in Wheaton and Buffalo Grove, as well as last week's announcement of the cancellation of the entire 2020 Ravinia Festival season.
City staff also announced the cancellation of Highland Park's annual Memorial Day observance. Honors to recognize fallen servicemembers may be incorporated into Veteran's Day celebrations.
This article originally appeared on the Highland Park Patch
