LYNN — It will be a different kind of Fourth of July for residents this weekend as the annual Lynn Shore Drive fireworks display has been canceled and block parties have been prohibited.
Although residents learned in late May that the July 3 fireworks show had been canceled, some may have held out hope that block parties and other traditional neighborhood festivities would still be allowed.
But it was not to be, as neighborhood events became another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing protocols last month.
“We found out a couple of weeks ago from the mayor’s office that we can’t have anything,” said Michele Brewster, the coordinator for the Lynn Woods Fourth of July festivities.
“We usually do something really big for the kids. We have a parade. As far as what we’re doing this year, there’s really not much going on.”
City Clerk Janet Rowe confirmed that block parties have been prohibited this year. Last year, 26 block parties were registered with the city for the Fourth of July and surrounding dates.
“Sad to say, no block parties this year,” said Rowe, who joked that she was referring to “legal ones anyway.”
The July 3 fireworks on Lynn Shore Drive traditionally anchors Independence Day weekend celebrations in Lynn marked by block parties and neighborhood events across the city.
The Fay Estate, Elm Street Civic Association, Gowdy Park and other neighborhood organizations hosted all-day block parties with egg toss competitions, three-legged races, water balloon tosses and children’s parades.
Peggy Surette and her neighbors haven’t missed organizing a Conomo Avenue block party between Magnolia Avenue and Broadway for 20 years.
“We’ve never had to cancel. We’re upset but we understand you have to err on the side of caution,” Surette said.
Surette and her neighbors are planning backyard parties this weekend. Brewster plans to have a small cookout at home with her husband and their children and grandchildren on the Fourth of July, which is much more low key than the event she was planning to organize.
Brewster has been attending the Lynn Woods Fourth of July event for more than 20 years with her children, which she and her husband took over last year.
The day typically kicks off with a parade for children, which features floats, bicycles, and scooters and runs from Lynnfield Street to Great Woods Road and ends at the softball field at Lynn Woods.
In past years, children have been able to participate in a variety of activities at Lynn Woods, such as face-painting, tattoos, three-legged and sack races, and an egg toss.
Another major neighborhood event that had to be canceled is the West Lynn celebration that is organized by the Pine Hill Civic Association, which also kicks off with a community parade.
The parade ends at Gallagher Park, where people can participate in races and backyard games, and listen to music until the early afternoon, said Josh Polonsky, president of the Pine Hill Civic Association.
“The Pine Hill Civic (Association) Fourth of July (event) is certainly one of the oldest in the city,” said Polonsky. “It’s probably one of the older ones statewide as well, at over 100 years old. It’s become one of my favorite events.”
Although the traditional celebration has been canceled, Polonsky said the Pine Hill Civic Association is attempting to hold a virtual parade on the holiday.
Instead of gathering together on the Fourth, Pine Hill residents are encouraged to dress up and decorate as they would have for the parade and submit their pictures and videos, which will be posted on the group’s Facebook page, Polonsky said.
“(We wanted to) give the neighborhood a way to virtually get together,” he said. “Realistically, there was no way to do a safe, socially distant celebration.”
The Pine Hill group is also organizing another virtual event for the holiday, dubbed “Patriotize Your Porch.” Neighbors are asked to adhere to a patriotic theme when decorating their porches and submit their photos, which will be posted on Facebook. Prizes will be awarded for the two pictures with the most likes, Polonsky said.
Although the Pine Hill event has been postponed in the past due to rain, this year’s cancellation was a first, or at least in recent memory, Polonsky said.
As far as Lynn Woods is concerned, Brewster is a little disappointed that the day had to be canceled — Fourth of July is her favorite holiday — but she thinks it was the right call.
“I’m glad that they made the decision that they made to keep everybody safe,” she said. “Our numbers are down in the city of Lynn and I want to keep it that way.”
