Spring event and activity cancellations for the Perry Chamber of Commerce now extend into summer traditions, with the June Friday Fest and Fourth of July activities canceled due to continued event and gathering restrictions in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
This includes the Fourth of July parade, vendors and activities at Pattee Park as well as live entertainment at the band shell. While the status of an August Friday Fest is still to be determined, the Farmers Market is scheduled to open Thursday, July 2 at the Josh Davis Memorial Plaza with some restrictions in place.
Despite activity cancellations, one of Perry’s Fourth of July traditions will continue: the annual fireworks display. Several fundraising initiatives are planned for the month of June, including the rescheduled Big Boom Bracket Battle and a Grocery Bill Round-up.
“There really was not a choice when it came to canceling the June Friday Fest and the Fourth of July activities,” explained Lynsi Pasutti, executive director of the Perry Chamber of Commerce, “but it was important to the Chamber Board to provide some sense of normalcy for the community with the annual fireworks display.”
In a May 26 proclamation, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds loosened restrictions for outdoor event venues effective June 1 as long as attendance was limited to 50% capacity and social distancing of six feet between groups was enforced. Similarly, community events may be held with the same restrictions but continue to be prohibited otherwise. The city of Perry reopened its parks May 29, but no group larger than 10 persons is permitted, and restrooms remain closed.
“The public health and safety of the community remains the top priority for community leaders and activity organizers,” Pasutti added “so while not ideal, cancellation is in the best interest of the general public and is in-line with many other communities across the state.”
Observers of the 4th of July fireworks display will be asked to practice social distancing while watching from various parking lots.
“With springtime fundraising efforts canceled and postponed, it is now crunch time for the fireworks drive,” Pasutti stated. “We have less than a month to raise $12,500 for the annual fireworks display. Although times are tough right now, we are hopeful that the community can pull together to see this tradition carry on. Large donations are always helpful to jump start any campaign, but even small donations add up and will be very important this year.”
The Big Boom Bracket Battle which was to debut back in March will now relaunch online using the same platform as the Chamber’s Perry Pride Business Booster gift card program. A week of voting with “likes” on Facebook back in March established the Explosive 8 in an elimination round of 24 nominated community members, all vying for the ultimate prize of a pie in the face for the sake of the Fourth of July fireworks drive.
Pie-in-the-face-eligible members of the Explosive 8 are: J. P. Hulgan, Jack Butler, Eddie Diaz, Eric Vaughn, Misty Von Behren, Mark Powell, Cheri Scheib and Emily Leslie, respectively listed in their seeded bracket positions/ They will go head-to-head in three rounds of bracket match ups. The Firecracker 4 will be announced Friday, June 19, and the Big Boom Showdown between the final duo will be announced Friday, June 26.
Advancement in the Big Boom Bracket Battle will be based on monetary donations from the community. Instead of collection jars at various locations, donations in any amount will be accepted online (be sure to select a name to designate your donation) and by mail to the Perry Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 472, with Memo: BBBB and Name of Nominee.
The grand finale of the fundraising initiative was originally planned to be at the Chamber’s Annual Dinner in order to coincide with the live pie auction, but now, the friendly competition will likely be broadcast via Facebook Live, tentatively on Friday, July 3.
The Grocery Bill Round-up that was originally to be held before Memorial Day will now be the week before July 4. Shoppers at Perry’s Fareway and Hy-vee stores will be asked to round up their grocery bills to the nearest dollar or more during the week of Monday, June 29 through Saturday, July 4.
Additionally, other fundraising initiatives are in the works, including collection jars at various businesses, the sale of remaining Sesquicentennial merchandise and possibly a “Quarantine Cookbook.”
For more information on Chamber activities and the various fireworks drive fundraising initiatives, contact the Perry Chamber of Commerce at PerryChamber@PerryIA.org or 515-465-4601.
Lynsi Pasutti is the executive director of the Perry Chamber of Commerce.
