Parkland scales back events to honor MSD victims on 3rd anniversary
For the third consecutive year, the city of Parkland will continue its tradition of honoring the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas mass shooting with a Community Commemoration on Sunday, Feb. 14.
Offered in a hybrid format, individuals can attend the commemoration in-person at Pine Trails Park, 10559 Trails Ends, in Parkland beginning at 5:30 p.m. or virtually through the city’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube live feeds.
Each year since the tragedy, the city has organized the commemoration event at the park on Feb. 14 — the day the shooting happened in 2018 — serving as a token of community togetherness and remembrance.
“It’s a very special event for our community,” said Tom DeAngelis, the city’s director of communications. “It’s very sentimental. The memory of the 17 victims is always uppermost in our minds and we’re always thinking of that through the planning process. We’ve known from the outset pretty much that the eventuality could be that it would be at least a hybrid event and that’s what it’s turned into being.”
The city has been forced to reduce some of the activities offered at the commemoration, adjusting to COVID-19 protocols.
The event will include therapy dogs on-site, display boards for community members to write messages and a brief commemoration honoring the victims. The commemoration will be conducted by spiritual leaders followed by a short video and candle lighting.
“The way that COVID has impacted this is we have scaled it back a little bit so there won’t be as many things being done in the park as there has been in years past,” DeAngelis said. “Some of the stuff was very interactive and required very close proximities, shoulder massages, face painting and things like that. Eagles’ Haven, which is a wellness center in our community, will be having activities and programming at their facility earlier that day.”
Eagles’ Haven, 5655 Coral Ridge Drive, in Coral Springs will offer a full day of programming from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Activities offered include meditation, rock painting, bracelet making and a drum circle, among others.
In addition, the event will be accompanied by a community service project with the city partnering with the Coconut Creek-based nonprofit Food For The Poor. Adjusting to COVID-19, residents are asked to participate in the community service project by donating to Food For The Poor.
In years past, the commemoration teamed up with a food-packing event in which volunteers helped pack and send hundreds of thousands of meals to underprivileged areas.
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