Santa Monica Cancels 4th of July, Citing "Lingering Safety Concerns" over Crowds and Covid

In a typical year, Santa Monica has an Independence day celebration at Santa Monica College. It's held the Friday before the holiday, a result of local disgust with a number of murders on July 4th 1998. Fireworks are launched from SMC, close to the center of the eight mile square town, so they may be seen from all over.

The Main Street Independence Day parade has also been cancelled. Both events were cancelled on July 4th, 2020 as well.

“SMC Event Producer and Associate Dean of Facilities Programming Linda Sullivan cited ongoing uncertainty about COVID-19 safety measures for large-scale non-ticketed events and planning logistics particular to the college as the main factors behind the decision,” writes Grace Smith of SMC in a press release. “SMC’s classes and student support services will remain mostly online throughout summer 2021, as previously announced.”

"In addition to COVID-19 concerns - we also have no direction on how to check spectators or participants for vaccination status," said Sullivan. "While 'Celebrate America' is not possible this year, we at SMC look forward to future occasions where we can once again interact safely with our community!"

“Celebrate America is a free, unticketed event for the community, but hosting the event requires substantial staff preparation and participation by many SMC departments, including Campus Police and Facilities Maintenance and Operations, Sullivan added.”

The press release from SMC by Grace Smith of SMC follows below.

Celebrate America 2021 Cancelled Due to Lingering Safety Concerns About Large-Scale Public Events, Among Other Factors

SANTA MONICA, CA - Santa Monica College (SMC) has officially cancelled "Celebrate America" for 2021 due to planning logistics and lingering safety concerns regarding large-scale, in-person events during the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

SMC Event Producer and Associate Dean of Facilities Programming Linda Sullivan cited ongoing uncertainty about COVID-19 safety measures for large-scale non-ticketed events and planning logistics particular to the college as the main factors behind the decision; SMC's classes and student support services will remain mostly online throughout summer 2021, as previously announced.

"In addition to COVID-19 concerns - we also have no direction on how to check spectators or participants for vaccination status," said Sullivan. "While 'Celebrate America' is not possible this year, we at SMC look forward to future occasions where we can once again interact safely with our community!"

Celebrate America is a free, unticketed event for the community, but hosting the event requires substantial staff preparation and participation by many SMC departments, including Campus Police and Facilities Maintenance and Operations, Sullivan added.

SMC continues to present free cultural and educational events online, and free to the public. Including the Drescher Planetarium shows on Friday nights (see smc.edu/planetarium). SMC also offers free videos of dance, music, and theatre arts performances. Upcoming events will be posted on the SMC Events calendar at smc.edu/calendar.