After being cancelled, the city of Fallon and Churchill County have resurrected the annual Fourth of July parade. The fireworks slated for later that day are still on.
The annual Fourth of July parade, which was canceled by the Downtown Merchants Association earlier in the week, now has new life for Independence Day, said David Ernst, recreation supervisor with the Churchill County Parks and Recreation Department as he updated plans on Wednesday for the annual parade.
According to Ernst, the city of Fallon and Churchill County stepped in to keep the parade. Ernst said he will put parade entry applications on the Parks and Recreation website and Facebook page. This year's theme is "Spring Sports, Apple Pie and the Fourth of July."
Ernst said the DMA, the primary sponsor, decided the parade couldn’t be held because no more than 50 people could attend an event due to the coronavirus pandemic. He said the city and county has a month to ensure the parade will be within the directives.
The parade has been a mainstay of the Fourth of July holiday when the Silver State International Rodeo sponsored the parade with rodeo contestants, mounted horse groups, politicians and local businesses … to name a few. The parade, though, wasn’t held in 2011 when the SSIR moved to Winnemucca, but it was revived the following year by the Fallon Chamber of Commerce and its former director, Natalie Parrish.
In May, Fernley also canceled its Fourth of July parade in addition to activities at Lake Tahoe.
Ernst said the family day at the fairgrounds, which was held during the afternoon of July 4, will not occur after next month’s parade.
Rattlesnake Raceway will still have auto racing that night with the annual fireworks lighting the July sky at about 9:30 p.m. Ernst said the city of Fallon has provided money to the fireworks display because the Lahontan Auto Racing Association hasn't been unable to raise donations. For the first two months of racing, the track was part of the statewide shutdown of events due to COVID-19.
If the community still wants to help donate to the fireworks, Rattlesnake Raceway has opened a gofundme page.
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