There are many health-conscious precautions you can take to ensure you have a safe, fun Fourth of July weekend this year. Taking the right steps can mitigate the risk to vulnerable friends, family community members and other individuals we may not think of interacting with, from exposure to an infection.
With that in mind, here are a few best practices that professionals and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend to stay safe from COVID-19 over the holiday.
- Practice Social Distancing In Crowds: Maintain a distance of six feet or more from strangers when in public. Keeping people out of your personal space can help prevent the transfer of airborne diseases. This is particularly important for those individuals that are in the higher risk category.
- Wear Personal Protective Equipment: If you think maintaining proper social distance may be a problem (which it well could be if you’re at a large parade or fireworks show), be sure to wear a mask to protect those around you.
- Keep Wipes / Sanitizer With You: The virus has been shown to live on surfaces, so it’s a good idea to keep hand sanitizer or sanitizing wipes with you. This way, you can disinfect any surfaces you may come into contact with, or keep your hands clean before and after interacting with people, food or fireworks.
- Stay in Small Social Groups: Smaller gatherings are safer than larger gatherings. As such, minimizing the people that you are around, especially those that you haven’t been around recently, is important in keeping germs at bay.
- Try to Celebrate Outdoors: Being outdoors is better than being indoors, according to Dr. Jay Butler, COVID-19 incident manager. This probably won’t be too difficult on the 4th, but try to stay outdoors and avoid places like restaurants, public bathrooms, bars and other busy places.
- Enjoy the Fireworks from Your Car: Rather than find a grassy spot in a park or other popular viewing area, find a spot to park your car, and enjoy the view from within. Bring some snacks and beverages, a few blankets and pillows, and you’re ready for a great Independence Day celebration.
- Go to Secluded Destinations: In line with safe social distancing and staying in smaller groups, a secluded getaway may be the best way to spend July Fourth in 2020. Thankfully, Minnesota is home to some fantastic destinations that are isolated from large crowds – you can find primitive campsites, private cabins and quaint, small-town accomodations all over the state. If the local festivities have been canceled, you can always purchase fireworks and have a patriotic celebration of your own.
July Fourth Events in MN
While many Fourth of July events in Minnesota have been canceled, some are continuing on. If you’re interested in celebrating, here are a few Independence Day festivities you can consider flying to.
Albertville
While Albertville Friendly City Days has been canceled, the fireworks show will still go on. However, they are closing the park and encouraging residents to watch from home, car or other socially distanced location.
Brainerd
There are two celebrations in the Brainerd area that may be worth checking out – The Rutgers Resort Fireworks show on the shore of Bay Lake and Madden’s Resort Fireworks show over Gull Lake.
Chanhassen
Chanhassen 4th of July Celebration
While some of the festivities have been canceled, many other festivities are still taking place in Chanhassen. Event-goers can participate in a chalk-drawing contest, business expo, farmers market, and view a historic plane flyover and of course, fireworks at 10pm.
Cross Lake
Cross Lake will host their 50th-annual Celebrate America event, with a fun run, flea market, book sale, outdoor music entertainment and a fireworks show on the lakeshore to cap it all off.
Luverne
Kind of a Fourth of July Celebration
Luverne is hosting a slimmed-down version of their usual Fourth of July Celebration, nicknaming it “Kind of a Fourth of July Celebration”. Fireworks will take place at 10pm, visible from the Lake (aka, Creamery Pond), and event-goers can participate in a triathlon, shop on-site vendors and listen to DJs.
Owatonna
While the grandstand won’t be open, Owatonna will open the Steel County Fairgrounds for their fireworks show at 10pm.
Shakopee
Head to Lion’s Park in Shakopee this July 3rd for an annual parade that celebrates America’s Birthday. Starting at 11am, decorated bikes, trikes, wagons and floats roll down Shakopee’s main streets.
Virtual Fourth of July Celebrations in MN
Some towns are holding virtual July Fourth celebrations in Minnesota. Check out the list below if you’d like to see fireworks from the comfort of your own home.
Edina
The parade will take place at 10am, featuring many festive floats. At 8:45 the Sousa Memorial Band plays before fireworks at Roseland Park at 10pm.
St. Paul
Tangletown 4th of July Picnic and Parade
This celebration encourages you to get out and celebrate Independence day by decorating your sidewalk and completing a neighborhood scavenger hunt, from 10am-1:30pm.
Forest Lake
Forest Lake will host a virtual celebration, sharing and celebrating community-submitted videos and photos of those who’ve worked to keep Minnesota communities safe throughout the pandemic crisis.
Enjoy Your Independence Day Celebration!
We at Inflight hope you have a safe, enjoyable Independence Day. If you plan on attending any public gatherings, adhere to the tips above to ensure that you remain healthy before, during and after our nation’s birthday. Have fun! And remember, if you’re interested in flying to any of these amazing celebrations above, or want to find a secluded destination where there isn’t a person in sight, flying yourself is a great option. We specialize in a number of pilot licensing programs, and can help you achieve the certification needed to fly a plane. For additional information about our company and service offerings, contact us today or call (952) 698-3000.