The annual City of Las Cruces Fourth of July Celebration will go the way of many public events at this time – canceled spectator and large group events due to the continuing virus pandemic. While the traditional Electric Light Parade and Community Concert will not take place this year, the City of Las Cruces is still planning a celebration to commemorate our national holiday in a safe and enjoyable way.
The Parks and Recreation Department is planning a Virtual Electric Photo Parade with a salute to our local heroes including first responders, medical workers, and all essential workers who have kept our community going through this pandemic. The Las Cruces community can participate by submitting photos showing their patriotic spirit in several categories. Winners will be chosen in each category and all photos will be showcased in a virtual slideshow parade on the City’s YouTube CLC TV 20 channel. Details will be announced later this week.
This year’s Fourth of July event may also provide, if allowable under the current public health order, the community with a firework display from a location in town that is widely visible by as many neighborhoods in Las Cruces as possible. If not possible, additional options are being reviewed.
“It is a very hard decision to cancel some of our well known Fourth of July events,” David Maestas, Interim City Manager, stated. “However, with the current guidelines for both social distancing and large gatherings, we feel that canceling these events is the best decision to make at this time for the health, safety, and welfare of our community. Las Crucens are resilient; even though the pandemic limits our traditional way of celebrating, our community will come together virtually to make it special!”
“Our annual, collaborative Fourth of July celebration is a symbol of how the strong working relationship between NMSU and the City of Las Cruces can bring our entire community
together,” said NMSU Chancellor Dan Arvizu. “We look forward to bringing this wonderful event back to our campus in 2021.”
City of Las Cruces news releases are available on the home page of the City website at las-cruces.org under News & Announcements and can be translated into Spanish and multiple other languages using the Select Language feature on the lower right side of the page.