TOWER- The Tower-Soudan Lake Vermilion Events Board met Monday, but no decision was made on whether or not the group will need to cancel the annual Fourth of July festivities.
“First and foremost is the safety of our community,” said board chair Julie Johnson. “But how do we know what that will be two months from now?”
The finality of making the decision to cancel was something that no one on the committee was quite ready to face.
Johnson said they haven’t seen any other area towns canceling their Fourth of July celebrations yet, and that most seemed to be waiting to see what changes would go into effect in May.
But even if the stay-at-home order is lifted, the decision to potentially open up the area to throngs of visitors could be a concern.
“Bringing thousands of people into town,” said Tim Tomsich, “no doubt would be raising the risk.”
Committee members seemed to agree that the wisest decision would be erring on the side of safety, but they decided to wait until later in May to make the final decision.
One committee member said that someone had called them and asked how they could consider putting on a parade when health care workers were at risk and dying.
The Tower Soudan Civic Club has already made the decision to cancel the pancake breakfast. The committee is not selling fundraiser raffle tickets this year. Fundraising for the Fourth is basically done a year in advance, so money raised last year was to fund this year’s parade, and if the events need to be canceled, the money will be available for 2021.
The Fourth of July Run will also be canceled if there is no parade.
Committee members had ideas on other ways to commemorate the nation’s birthday if the decision is made to cancel the parade and related events
Orlyn Kringstad said he would feel really bad if the Fourth could not be celebrated in some way.
Fireworks would still be an option, as they have already been paid for.
Jarri Ankrum floated the idea of having a home and business decorating contest, where people could drive around and then vote for their favorites. The idea of having floats simply parked, and then voting on them, was also an option.
“If the six-foot distancing is continued into July there is no question we would need to cancel,” said Tomsich. “Crowds on sidewalks, candy being thrown from floats, children at the sawdust scramble, and the Breitung Community Picnic all involve people tightly packed together.”
“It is so hard to break with tradition,” said Lori Tomsich.
The committee also talked about 2021 and is looking into the idea of hosting an all-school reunion to mark the 10th anniversary of the closing of the Tower-Soudan High School.
The committee will meet on Monday, May 18 at 4:30 p.m. at the Tower Civic Center (where there is ample room for social distancing). Johnson said June 1 would be the latest date to make a final decision.