Summer on the Front Range hasn’t looked the same in the wake of the coronaivirus pandemic.
The spread of the highly infectious respiratory disease has put a halt to festivals, concerts and graduations, and seen capacity limits at local pools and lake beaches.
With the initiation of Gov. Jared Polis’ June guidelines for outdoor events, however, some municipalities saw a way to salvage warm-weather traditions, giving residents some semblance of normalcy, while also abiding by public health restrictions.
In Weld County’s Carbon Valley, which includes Frederick, Firestone and Dacono, two towns were among those that saw a chance to continue summer festivities, albeit altered versions of the beloved traditions.
Firestone town officials said they felt it was important to light up the night sky this Fourth of July with the traditional fireworks show. Many Boulder County communities, including Longmont and Boulder, canceled plans for fireworks, due to the pandemic.
In recognition of health concerns, Katie Hanson, Firestone spokesperson, said the Fourth of July celebration was “significantly scaled back,” including canceling the parade and other activities. In a Facebook post, town officials cautioned everyone watching the show to follow social distancing practices. Town Manager A.J. Krieger said “freedom, family and personal responsibility” are national and town hallmarks.
“As a town government, we felt it important to find a safe way to honor America’s independence and the bond between neighbors that strengthens our community,” Krieger said.
Firestone has also continued its Food and Flick Fridays, but the typical outdoor movie night has been modified. Now modeled after a drive-in, residents are invited to pull into a parking spot at the Firestone Sports Complex, 6850 Tilbury Ave., and watch a movie. On Friday, people gathered to watch “Shazam!”
In neighboring Dacono, A.J. Euckert, the city manager, said, “Dacono has canceled all of (our) events scheduled for this summer.”
Frederick town officials also canceled some events, such as the Frederick in Flight Hot Air Balloon Festival, which had been planned for the end of June. Angela Wilson, town spokesperson, said the festival’s history of bringing in thousands of people to Frederick, combined with the cost and “socializing nature of the event,” were factors in the decision.
But like Firestone, Frederick town officials saw an opportunity with the state’s release of outdoor guidelines.
Next Wednesday to Saturday, Frederick will host the eighth annual Chainsaws and Chuckwagons. While people can still watch the woodcarvers sculpt works of art from logs and enjoy cuisine from a variety of food trucks, the event has been modified to abide by the state’s public health guidelines.
Chainsaws and Chuckwagons will not be taking place in downtown Crist Park,where it normally occurs. Instead, it has been relocated to Centennial Park, 630 Eighth St. Wilson said Centennial Park is roughly 10 times the size of Crist Park.
As part of its outdoor guidelines, the state released a social distancing space calculator, to provide an idea of how many people can safely be in a certain amount of space. Using the calculator for guidance, Wilson said it was determined that up to 930 people could safely occupy the park, which is roughly 310,000 square feet. The event has never drawn more than 1,000 people at one time, Wilson said.
“We are working closely with the Weld County Health Department and all our sponsors and vendors,” Wilson said. “We want to be leaders in community engagement and thrive on interacting with our community in a safe setting.”
The wood for the contest is donated by American Arborist Service, a tree service located in Longmont. At the event, community members cast their vote for their favorite masterpiece. The event is free and open to the public. This year, many of the activities, such as the beer garden and kids’ bounce house, will not be available. The Frederick Police Department will be on site giving out mementos to children and interacting with people from a safe distance.
Town officials felt it was important to help the artist community by continuing the event this year, Wilson said.
“The focus of the event is to support our woodcarvers,” Wilson said. “Their livelihood depends on festivals and competitions. We have received excellent feedback from our carvers, who are excited to get (out) and show off their skills and wares.”
Wilson said anyone who wants to attend the event is “strongly encouraged” to RSVP on Frederick’s website so that event organizers have an idea of how many people are coming and to allow for contact tracing if needed. Those who attend are also asked to follow guidelines listed on the event page, which include wearing masks, following 6-foot social distancing, and using hand-washing stations.
The town has tasked roughly 36 event volunteers with keeping track of the number of people in each section. If the space is in jeopardy of exceeding capacity, volunteer “attendant trackers” will take a “firm but friendly” approach and ask the person to come back to the event at a different time and provide them with information on viewing the event virtually, Wilson said.
Times and a full schedule of Chainsaws and Chuckwagons events can be found on the town’s website at frederickco.gov. Some of the carving events will be livestreamed on the town’s Facebook page.
Looking ahead, Wilson said Frederick also plans to host a small neighborhood Community Tour and Talk series at 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sept. 2 in local parks. The goal is to give residents a chance to get to know the mayor and town officials, while also getting caught up on issues important to the municipality. All compliance with state outdoor guidelines will be followed Wilson said. Three earlier tours were canceled. There were 59 RSVPs for the tour kickoff Wednesday at Johnson Farm Park, according to Wilson.
When asked what advisory Weld County has for municipalities hosting events this summer, the Weld County Joint Information Center, which provides coronavirus information through the county’s Office of Emergency Management, released a statement via email Wednesday.
“Weld County has always stressed personal responsibility and common-sense measures when combating COVID-19,” the statement read. “Weld County is not developing specific guidance or giving approval to individual business or event plans.”
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State guidelines allow Carbon Valley towns to salvage summer traditions in wake of pandemic - Longmont Times-Call
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