Incline Village, NV has canceled all of this year’s Fourth of July events this year, according to the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitor Bureau, due to uncertainty around the coronavirus.
“The amount of people that come up for the events and head to the beach is where we are concerned,” says Andy Chapman, CEO of the visitor bureau. “We see thousands of people on the beach throughout the days leading up to the Fourth of July. With those crowds and given the current situation with COIVD-19, we’re not sure where we might be in a few months.”
The community usually raises money to fund the events and officials also don’t think it’s appropriate to ask for money at a time when there is financial insecurity.
The event is usually a five-day affair consisting of a parade, veterans appreciation ceremonies, different carnivals, live music entertainment, a pancake breakfast, and of course the fireworks display at Incline Beach.
When asked if there was a possibility of the fireworks display going ahead if stay-at-home orders are relaxed between now and then, Chapman told KRNV:
“There’s lots of moving parts,” says Chapman. “We are not willing to risk the safety of others at this point. We are following guidelines set in place by the state and since there is no exact time of where things will start to get better, we don’t want to take that risk.”
Other holiday weekend events elsewhere on Lake Tahoe, at Tahoe City and Kings Beach, for example, have yet to announce any cancelations.
