The Evanston 4th of July committee is still deciding how to proceed after the cancellation
A volunteer and community-funded group that organizes Evanston’s 4th of July celebration will meet next week to discuss rescheduling the Palatine Community Band concert and evening fireworks display that were canceled in the wake of Monday’s shooting in Highland Park.
By Debbie-Marie Brown
Number of words: 480
A volunteer and community-funded group that organizes Evanston’s 4th of July celebration will meet next week to discuss rescheduling the Palatine Community Band concert and evening fireworks display that were canceled in the wake of Monday’s shooting in Highland Park.
“The parade can’t be rescheduled,” said Jamie Black, who serves as the group’s celebration manager. “But we still want to do our fireworks show and have a concert in the evening. A great evening down by the lake for everyone, one more possibility. But we have to talk about it.”
Black says the committee can’t say for sure when the event might take place or what the details will look like. First, they have to work with the city of Evanston to plan it.
Before committee members learned the march had been canceled, Black told the roundtable they were reeling from the mass shooting that left 7 dead and dozens injured and hospitalized.
The committee began receiving calls from the police informing them that they would be meeting to decide how to proceed; Officials told the committee to be on alert.
“Finally, we got a call that the parade and fireworks were canceled,” Block said. “Everybody was disappointed, terribly disappointed because it was a day you know. Everything was already in motion. “
When Evanston police called a halt to the festivities, the morning games had already taken place and attendees were in the middle of a “fun run.” Kariya and his companions waited for all the parade units to arrive and to those who were already there, they informed them that the parade had been cancelled.
On Monday evening, the Celebration Manager went to another parade marshal’s house and sat and talked trying to process everything.
“Once the parade and the fireworks were cancelled, everyone was like, ‘What do we do now?’
This year was the committee’s 100th anniversary and the group decided to circulate anniversary program booklets on abandoned chairs on Central Street. The city began putting out chairs for the celebration on July 1, and Black and others left programs on the chairs, hoping they would end up in the hands of those who came later.
Some people had already come out, so they were able to offer a program that included articles and other information to some Evanstonians.
“I’m angry, I’m sad. I’m disappointed. I’m just a bunch of emotions and still going, is this really going to happen? I mean, it doesn’t seem like something that should happen,” Black said of the shooting. “Highland Park seems like the least likely to happen.”
