FAIRHOPE – The Fairhope New Year’s Eve ball drop and other events to celebrate the end of 2020 have been canceled as a precaution against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic that has marked most of the year.
Mayor Sherry Sullivan announced the cancelation at the Dec. 14 City Council meeting.
“We do plan to cancel the city New Year’s Eve event in light of COVID,” Sullivan told council members. “We just don’t feel like that’s going to happen this year. We did not want to encourage any gatherings and y’all know better than anyone that the tents do create a gathering and also the stage and the ball drop so we will not be doing that this year.”
During the 2019 New Year’s Eve celebration, about 7,000 residents gathered at the intersection of Fairhope Avenue and Church Street to watch a ball dropped from a crane at midnight. The annual event included bands, fireworks and other activities.
Tents rented by civic groups, businesses, individuals and others have also been set up along Fairhope Avenue during past New Year’s celebrations.
A city statement said that since Gov. Kay Ivey extended the state’s Safer at Home health order to Jan. 22, restricting public gatherings, Fairhope officials decided to cancel New Year’s Eve events out of consideration for potential public health risks.
Sullivan said all Mardi Gras parades have also been called off.
“We have had two organizations cancel and we expect the third one and also the Haven, obviously, to also cancel this week,” Sullivan said. “So, it looks like Mardi Gras will not happen in Fairhope this year,” Sullivan said Dec. 14. “We’re really disappointed in that, but think that it is probably the best decision for our community to keep us safe and healthy.”
Sullivan said Friday that all four parades had been canceled.
