Andover’s Fourth of July Celebration Has Been Cancelled

COVID makes it too risky; plans under way for 2021

May 20, 2020 • Saved under Committees
Press release

 

Eldora Walker Heath leads the children’s parade during the 1976 Andover Fourth of July celebration.

The Andover Fourth of July Committee, sad to say, has decided to cancel this year’s Fourth of July celebration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reasoning for cancelling is the unnecessary risk.

A view of the fantastic costumes being worn and everyone ready for the 1978 children’s Andover Fourth of July parade.

At a normal event, we would have police, fire and other safety measures in place. But none of these will protect us from COVID-19. A single, infected person attending this event could infect many others. If one person was infected from attending our event and, heaven forbid, died as a result, there would be a stain on the event forever. We would like to have an event where the only risk is eating too many subs, too much fried chicken, french fries, hot dogs, burgers, fried dough, donuts, ice cream, cotton candy, strawberry shortcake and….well, you get the idea!

Parade participants line up for the children’s parade during the 1978 Andover Fourth of July celebration. They are in front of what is now The Community Hub.

The Fourth of July celebration has always been a high point in Andover…something we all look forward to. Truly, nothing can replace the fun the event brings. The committee would like to offer a few online activities that can be done at home. We are working to present last year’s parade on the local channel. A slide show of past events, a drawing/writing contest of your favorite memory are a few.  These will be offered on our Facebook page at Facebook.com/AndoverNH4thOfJuly and, hopefully, on a separate Andover Fourth of July website.

Due to COVID-19, we did not solicit raffle donation prizes for our usual raffle event. The committee has purchased several grocery gift cards and will raffle them off to the folks who have already purchased tickets. No more tickets will be sold. The drawing will be held on July 4.
The committee is already thinking about next year with the hopes of making it a better than ever celebration. Think positive! Stay healthy! Just like those who fought and died for this country, we all need to stand tall, be brave, and never give up! That’s the Andover way!