COVID-19 detonates Fourth of July celebrations

By Correne Martin

The communities of Bagley, Eastman, Marquette and Boscobel have all canceled their 2020 Fourth of July celebrations due to COVID-19, with one fireworks exception. According to event organizers, the decisions to forego these annual holiday observances were made after careful consideration about the safety of event-goers and volunteers. 

All have stated their events will be back on the calendar in 2021.

Bagley

“This decision was very difficult for us to make. Ultimately, it was the decison of the Bagley Village Board. This event is a huge day for Bagley and is so important to our local economy,” said Bobbi Jo Gofus, one of the annual event’s organizers. “The businesses and organizations that have booths, stands or activities at the 4th celebration depend on the day to make ends meet the remainder of the year.”

Though Bagley’s entire event—including its parade, vendor booths, games, bull ride and fireworks—is not happening, the Bagley Volunteer Fire Department has chosen to move forward with its popular ChickenQ fundraiser at the village park, in a drive-through/carryout only format.

“We’re hoping to have a successful ChickenQ for the local fire department,” Gofus added. “They normally fund their training and equipment needs from the profits made at Thunder In The Valley (bull ride). The ChickenQ is obviously a much smaller fundraiser, but every little bit helps.”

More details will be shared as the event nears. 

Eastman

In Eastman, the village board met Monday night and, shortly after, reported that its annual Fourth of July celebration had been canceled.

According to a Facebook event for the festivities, the celebration “will be back in 2021 bigger and better than ever.”

Mayor Pat Joy noted that the community, like others, would have liked to still host its activities. Yet, the village board’s main factor in making the decision to cancel was the fact that, according to Crawford County Health Department stage 2 guidelines, no more than 100 people are allowed to gather at this time. 

“Even if we go into stage 3 by the Fourth, they don’t want more than 250 people gathered, and there’s no way we can keep our numbers under that,” Joy said.  

Marquette

The Marquette City Council approved cancellation of its parade for the Fourth of July; however, it decided to continue with this year’s July 4 fireworks. 

Boscobel

Boscobel also moved to scratch its fireworks fundraiser, parade, park festivities and fireworks on July 4. 

Community leaders said, in a public statement, “We hope everyeone has a safe and celebratory Independence Day.”