Illinois city of Evanston CANCELS July 4th parade over COVID-19 concerns but allows Juneteenth and Pride celebrations to take place in-person
Residents of Evanston, Illinois have been left perplexed after organizers cancelled in-person Independence Day events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while Juneteenth and Pride celebrations are still going ahead.
Former resident Tom Bevan, who is the co-founder of Real Clear Politics, brought attention to the issue on Twitter Thursday, writing: 'My home town of Evanston, Illinois is having a Juneteenth Parade and a Gay Pride Parade, but is cancelling the 4th of July Parade & Fireworks'.
He subsequently shared a screenshot from the Evanston Fourth of July Association announcing they were cancelling their annual fun run, parade, band performance and lakefront fireworks show.
The Association has instead opted for a 'safe, creative, virtual celebration' instead.
Residents of Evanston, Illinois have been left perplexed after officials cancelled Independence Day celebrations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but allowed events for Juneteeth and Pride to go ahead
on Saturday, hundreds of residents turned out and went without masks to celebrate the first federal holiday of Juneteenth
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss was spotted mingling with residents and was seen participatitng in a car parade
the Evanston Fourth of July Association announcing they were cancelling their annual fun run, parade, band performance and lakefront fireworks show
Pride celebrations will be occurring in-person next Saturday, with a drive-by parade, a community picnic and a candle lighting ceremony
Evanston celebrated Juneteenth on Saturday, with hundreds of residents turning out to celebrate
Speaking with Fox News, organizer Jamie Black said the Association 'made the decision in March based on the information that we had at that time'.
He explained: 'There are deadlines for permits and to secure the fireworks, as well as taking applications for the parade that happen early in the year'.
'We erred on the side of caution. If things weren't better, we would have been criticized for being a super spreader event'.
However, on Saturday, hundreds of residents turned out and went without masks to celebrate the first federal holiday of Juneteenth.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss was spotted mingling with residents and was seen participating in a car parade.
Meanwhile, Pride parade festivities will be occurring in-person next Saturday, with a drive-by parade, a community picnic and a candle lighting ceremony.
) People march during an annual celebration of Juneteenth in Evanston on Saturday
Members of a percussion band perform during an annual celebration of Juneteenth in Evanston
Several people responded to Bevan's tweet, with one writing: 'Glad I left Evanston! Much happier in Arizona.'
Another chimed in: 'Politically correct BS'.
However, others stated that the Evanston Fourth of July Association were well within their rights to cancel their in-person events, and there was no anti-American agenda.
'You guys realize it's not just one singular committee that plans ALL events for the city, right? You realize different events are planned by different committees made up of different people who have different ideas of how and when they'd like their events to happen... right??' one wrote.
Pride festivities are scheduled to take place in person next weekend. Revelers are seen celebrating the gay rights month during a car parade in Evanston last year
Despite being in the midst of the pandemic, Evanston celebrated Independence Day with a car parade in 2020. This year, all events will be held virtually
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