For the second year in a row, Avondale Estates won’t hold its usual patriotic parade on the Fourth of July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city made an effort to hold its 2021 event after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new gathering guidelines in May, but City Manager Patrick Bryant said the timing was too late.
“We came to realize that participation in this year’s parade would be far reduced from the levels of participation that we’ve had in the past,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday. “We didn’t think the parade would be able to meet the city’s expectations of what it would normally be.”
Usually, the city’s parade is primarily organized by city staff, but Bryant said they tried to have volunteers get it off the ground due to the shortened timeline. They learned many residents already made travel plans for the Fourth of July holiday and that many performers who have participated in the city’s past parades were already booked.
In a Facebook post announcing the parade’s cancellation, Mayor Jonathan Elmore thanked the residents who tried to make the event happen. The post said, “We look forward to next year when we have more time to plan and implement this beloved event.”
Bryant said the city will still launch fireworks from Lake Avondale, located along Lakeshore and Wiltshire drives. Starting at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Boy Scout Troup 6 will be the event’s only vendor, serving hot dogs, chips and sodas near the lake’s gazebo.
He said the display is “a signal that we’re pushing past the pandemic phase and trying to reenter our new normal.”
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