Parade canceled

City, county and chamber officials made a joint decision Thursday to cancel the 4th of July parade for the second time.

The difficult choice was made due to surging COVID-19 rates in Texas.

The cancellation was made on the same morning that Gov. Greg Abbott paused any further phases of reopening Texas. A press release from his office stated that the pause “will help our state corral the spread.”

Abbott also canceled elective surgeries in Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties because of a surge in COVID-related hospitalizations in those areas.

The governor’s actions came after a two-week period in which hospitalizations statewide reached record highs.

Chamber president and CEO Mike Scott announced in May that the traditional July 4th parade and festival would be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but later reconsidered after many people expressed anger and disappointment on social media.

Scott asked for, and received, permission from the Granbury City Council and Hood County Commissioners Court to hold the events but on a smaller scale intended for locals only.

For now at least, the festival is still on. Only local vendors will participate.

The festival, which will feature merchants, artisans and food/beverage vendors in “pop-up” vendor spaces on the courthouse parking lot, will begin at noon on Friday, July 3 and will extend through the evening of Saturday, July 4.

95.5 K-HITS will present “Limelight” for the Friday evening concert on the square.

The fireworks show by Extreme Pyrotechnics is still on, too. The show will begin around 9:45 p.m. on July 4th over Lake Granbury near the Pearl Street bridge.

Since the fireworks can be seen in a large portion of the county, individuals can easily maintain social distancing, the chamber previously noted.

The chamber is encouraging all participants in the July 4th activities to follow social distancing and health guidelines provided in the “Open Texas Checklist” produced by The Governor’s Strike Force to Open Texas.

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