Organizers hope that the pandemic won't cancel Watertown's July 4th events
Apr. 17—WATERTOWN — City officials haven't given up on having people sitting on their blankets at Thompson Park to watch fireworks and hear an orchestra play patriotic songs at the city's Fourth of July concert this summer.
A few weeks ago, the Watertown Noon Rotary canceled the July 4th celebration at Thompson Park because of the uncertainty with COVID-19. The event also wasn't held last summer because of the pandemic.
But the City Council will be asked on Monday night to appropriate $40,000 from the general fund balance to provide funding for the concert and fireworks. The festivities would be held on July 1.
Mayor Jeffrey M. Smith has indicated that council members wish to fund the event so that it can happen this year. At Monday's council meeting, he said he hoped that the concert could be paid for with the $23 million that the city is receiving from the COVID Relief bill.
City Manager Kenneth A. Mix said Friday city officials are working on the logistics to put the concert together, which would be "the same kind of concert as in past years."
He's just waiting to see what the state's COVID guidelines will be for big events and whether they will change by the time the concert is held. He wouldn't be surprised if they change from a 20% percent capacity for the crowd on the hill at Thompson Park and people having to prove they've been vaccinated.
He hopes as more people get vaccinated the guidelines will become more lenient.
Organizers of some of the most popular summer events also are wondering about what happens with the guidelines as they're planing how to hold them this summer.
If they can hold them at all.
Board member Robert D. Simpson still hopes that it will be a go for the Jefferson County Fair.
Fair officials continue to put together plans for the fair, which would be held from July 13-18 at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds in Watertown.
It'll depend on what Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo decides about guidelines for fairs. So far, there are none, but amusement parks operators know how to comply, he said.
"We're waiting to hear from the dictator," he said.
The board of directors of the New York State Ag Affairs might find out more when they meet Saturday afternoon in Herkimer. He hopes that the board will have information from the governor's office about guidelines for county fairs.
In Cape Vincent, the group that puts on the French Festival is putting together plans for different sized French Festivals, depending on what happens with guidelines.
This year's French festival might be the event that takes up the entire downtown as it has in the past, something not as big or an extremely small one depending what the state decides on COVID compliances, said event chair Nicole Paratore.
"We have to see where they are in July and where we are," she said.
The board met on Thursday night to talk about the situation. The French festival would be held on July 10. Last year's was canceled because of the pandemic.
After a year's absence, the Jefferson County Parade will be held at 7 p.m. June 4 in Watertown, but the festival held in the Dulles State Office Building will not. In Sackets Harbor, plans are moving ahead to hold the Can-Am Festival. It would be held on July 17 and July 18.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces Day Parade will be canceled for the second consecutive year. Instead of the parade, the group will host an Armed Forces Day Tribute in Thompson Park by the North Country Honors the Mountain monument from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 15.
