Freedom Festival canceled, but fireworks go on
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 7 months AGO
Courtesy photo Jake Gill performs at last year’s Moses Lake Freedom Festival. This year’s festival is canceled, but the fireworks display is still set to go on.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | June 10, 2020 11:36 PM
MOSES LAKE — The Fourth of July still will be celebrated with fireworks in Moses Lake, though the Freedom Festival has been canceled, organizers have announced.
The fireworks will begin at about 10 p.m.
The carnival, live concert and other events scheduled for Moses Lake’s annual Freedom Festival weekend won’t happen this year, due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Freedom Festival is sponsored by the committee that also sponsors Moses Lake Spring Festival.
Freedom Festival joins Spring Festival and other events statewide, in being canceled this year because of the virus outbreak.
People are being asked to make some changes in their fireworks-watching routine on July 4. Sean Sallis, Freedom Festival’s committee president, said people are asked to avoid gathering in McCosh Park to watch the fireworks.
“Come up with creative ways to watch the show from your home, car, boat or other spots around town,” Sallis wrote.
Organizers of the July 4 celebration at George announced earlier that most of the traditional activities of the community festival have been canceled, but the fireworks show will go on. The show in George will begin at about 10 p.m. Veterans will raise the American flag at 11 a.m., with spectators asked to observe social distancing.
The July 4 celebration in Othello, including fireworks, has been canceled. The fireworks show in Othello has been moved to New Year’s Eve.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.
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