From the Town: Supervisor Seeley updates on the status of Memorial Day and 4th of July Celebrations

This morning, Supervisor Seeley shared this message to Irondequoit residents on his Facebook Page regarding our holiday celebrations.

LET’S TALK ABOUT INDEPENDENCE DAY AND MEMORIAL DAY IN IRONDEQUOIT THIS YEAR

With some sense of normalcy on the horizon, it has been of no surprise that many of you in Town have started to inquire about whether we will be engaging in our yearly Spring and Summer celebrations at Town Hall. Irondequoit has earned the distinction as a “Festival Town,” and our commitment to bringing our community together throughout the year is something that makes this a wonderful place to live.

The short answer is: Yes, we plan on bringing back our Independence Day celebration, and conducting a Memorial Day observance that will allow our community to pay tribute to those who have fought for our freedoms.

Plans are already underway to conduct our annual Fourth of July parade down Cooper Rd and Titus Avenue. We have begun reaching out to participants and I am confident that we will be able to this safely. We won’t have the massive two-day festival on July 3rd and 4th, but it is our plan to have a scaled down version that still allows us to enjoy music, good food and each other’s company. As always, we will comply with any federal, state or local guidelines.

Naturally, the most important question on everyone’s mind is: will we have fireworks? We would very much like to. Much of that depends on the collective decisions that other communities make. As I said last year, if Irondequoit is the only town with fireworks then that is going to pose a problem. I don’t believe that will be the case, and I continue to talk regularly with my fellow local government leaders in neighboring communities. The City of Rochester seems inclined to have some sort of firework display, so at this point, I am optimistic that fireworks can and will return safely this year.

Irondequoit has observed Memorial Day for nearly a century. While we still had our ceremony in the cemetery last year, it was sad to have to cancel the 2020 Memorial Day parade. I have always said that Memorial Day is about putting the spotlight on those who have sacrificed so much for our country. And we will still do that through a “reverse parade” where our veterans and first responders will line up along Titus Avenue in front on Town Hall, allowing motorists to slowly drive by to pay tribute. After speaking with the American Legion, this is the most practical alternative this year, and I am looking forward to it.

I’ll remind people that there is a good opportunity next week to come together as a community, with the return of our Invigorate Irondequoit Town clean-up, next Saturday morning, April 24th. Please contact Specialevents@Irondequoit.org for information on how to sign up. We will be remotely dispatching people this year, so there will not be a need to come to Town Hall.

So yes, there is reason for optimism. We are planning for a busy Summer in our Recreation program. The Thursday Farmers Market is returning in May.

More people are getting shots in their arms, and while our daily COVID numbers remain too high, it is the expectation of many that over the next few weeks we will start to see a reduction. But that is not a guarantee. Please continue to wear a mask in public, practice social distancing and take advantage of the growing supply of vaccinations. Just yesterday, the CDC demonstrated that vaccines are 99.992% effective in preventing COVID infections. Our ability to have fun this summer depends on our success in defeating COVID, something we all have a stake in.