Freedom Blast and all summer entertainment events have been cancelled because COVID-19 and recommendations from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and social distancing.
The Moonlight Movies series and Tunes in the Park are also canceled, and the street festival planned for July 10 to celebrate the conclusion of the CenterG streetscape project will be rescheduled, according to the City of Greer’s Monday announcement.
“One of the things we’ve said all along is that our desire is to make sure we are compliant with state orders from our governor as well as following recommended guidelines from the CDC,” said Greer City Administrator Ed Driggers. “We did not see that there was any measure that we could comply with to provide for appropriate distancing for those events that draw from hundreds of guests to several thousand.”
“We will hold in reserve the resources we have committed to both Freedom Blast and our CenterG dedication to hold those events at another time,” Driggers said. “We are going to make sure that we, as a community, will be able to celebrate our veterans and the newness of our CenterG program. We’ll just have to do that later and possibly in a different fashion.”
City Council unanimously approved.
The city is also implementing alternative ways to deliver some of its summer programs. The nine-week Tall Tale Tuesday storytelling series will be delivered on video beginning June 16. Author Jeffrey Lefko will share his new book, “Solomon Squirrel’s Adventure with the Missing Acorns”, and Greer Cultural Arts Supervisor Robin Byouk will lead a crafts session for children.
The Parks and Recreation Department will also deliver virtual programs for children throughout the summer.
Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson and other upstate communities have also cancelled annual July 4 celebrations.