We encourage residents to enjoy Freedom Fest’s live streaming of this year’s July 4 events

Opinion of Morgan Hill Life

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a brake on many summer events beloved by the South Valley region including the Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras, the Gilroy Garlic Festival, and the Freedom Fest celebrations of American independence. But in the spirit of the USA, the organizers of the Freedom Fest events decided to get innovative using modern technology to bring people together for the annual birthday bash of our nation.

The Freedom Fest celebration of events has been organized and run by the Independence Day Celebration Inc, an all-volunteer 501c3 non-profit organization, with the support of the city of Morgan Hill and through the generous financial support of its local businesses and residents.

Since the beginning of 2020, the organization, in concert with the city along with its police and fire departments, has worked to create contingency plans, given the events of the past several months, to continue the celebration in our community.

Unfortunately, holding this year’s Independence Day celebration in its traditional manner is just not possible with COVID-19 requiring limited mass gatherings and the economic hardships facing donor. However, South Valley residents know the spirit of this holiday is more than just a traditional celebration of parades and fireworks. As Freedom Fest Board President Jeff Dixon told us, “We know that the spirit of community and celebrating our country will shine through.”

In the spirit of resilience, Freedom Fest organizers are changing the format of almost all of their events to be a broadcast virtual event. Streaming live on the Fourth of July on multiple channels, the show will share with the public a virtual car cruise showing classic vehicles and hot rods, a virtual patriot sing with the children of our community belting out songs celebrating our liberties as a nation, and a virtual parade complete with bands, horse units and special guests. The broadcast will end the day with a special replaying of the Morgan Hill Independence Day fireworks from a previous year.

This show will have a few special surprise guests, including live recognition of some of the heroes who have worked tirelessly on the front line for many months this year in helping their fellow South Valley residents get through the coronavirus crisis. It will highlight the rich tradition of this holiday and the diversity of our community and our country.

This was not an easy decision for the board members of Freedom Fest to make, but it was the right one because public health and the safety of thousands of our local residents must be a priority over holding the events regardless of our spirit of patriotism.

We encourage our residents to enjoy Freedom Fest’s live streaming of this year’s July 4 events. And we hope that they will financially support this worthwhile nonprofit organization. As a unified community, celebrating our nation’s Independence Day through the technology of digital devices and the Internet, we can share in the spirit of the founding of our nation as well as recall why it has been the land of the free and the home of the brave for nearly 250 years.

Please visit www.morganhillfreedomfest.com or the group’s Facebook page for updates. If you have any questions or comments, email them at [email protected].