FILE -- Fireworks explode over Thanksgiving Point Saturday July 30, 2005 at the Utah County Fair. Photo by Scott G. Winterton/Deseret Morning News. (Submission date: 07/30/2005)
LOGAN, Utah — More cities across Utah are announcing plans for in-person summer celebrations.
The latest example comes from Logan, where organizers say the annual Independence Day firework show will be held. It comes after the event was canceled last year due to COVID-19 precautions.
Officials have indicated the local and statewide COVID-19 outlook both appear promising enough to move forward with plans.
At the state level, Governor Spencer Cox has already said he expects large gatherings to take place by early July, perhaps without masks and other restrictions.
“I’m not going to be wearing this [mask] on the Fourth of July,” Cox said during a press conference in February. “I’m going to be in a parade somewhere.”
Logan is just the most recent example of a city in Utah announcing that summer plans will be largely back to ‘normal.’
A couple of weeks ago, officials in Orem announced their annual Summerfest celebration will take place in early June.
On their website, they noted that plans are contingent on Utah County granting them a mass gathering permit, although pushing the dates back would be an option if a permit is not immediately granted.
At this time, preliminary plans call for a car show and pool party in the middle of the week, while a carnival component would likely be featured towards the end of the week.
Just last week, six counties in Utah were moved to the “moderate” transmission phase for the virus.
The six counties moving down are Salt Lake, Cache, Davis, Grand, Sanpete and Wasatch.
A similar move elsewhere would have a major impact on summer events, since there are no limits on the size of gatherings in the moderate phase.
Additionally, recently passed legislation will remove the statewide mask mandate by April 10.