SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — The City of South Haven has announced they'll be canceling this year's annual July fireworks show because of COVID restrictions.
South Beach in South Haven is one of the many places people gather to watch the fireworks show light off from the North Pier the night before the Fourth of July.
This year will be the second year in a row the city is canceling the show to keep everyone safe.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we’ve decided to cancel the show. We’ve done so because typically our shows attract tens of thousands of people to the waterfront," said the City of South Haven City Manager Kate Hosier.
Although July is still four months away, the city of South Haven announced the plans to cancel on Friday.
"We have been in COVID restrictions for some time now, and we have been monitoring the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' epidemic orders. Just keeping an eye on what’s going on, we really aren’t seeing the restrictions loosen up to the extent of what we know the number of spectators we get," said Hosier.
As for making the decision this early, the city said there are a great deal of logistics that go into the planning, including getting the permit and working with the pyrotechnics company.
"We don’t want to be responsible for people getting COVID here. We just know with so many visitors and so little real estate, it is probably just a good idea to be cautious," said Hosier.
The city said they're not too worried that canceling the fireworks will affect tourism, as there is still plenty to do in the summer months like visit the beaches, and bike and walk the trails.
"There is always concern that anything we do may impact businesses, restaurants and bars, but I also know that the state sets the regulations. We are just here to follow them," said Hosier.
As for the parade that is normally held, the City said they haven't gotten to that part of the planning stages just yet to determine if they will still hold it or end up canceling it.
