The Mathews Fireworks Committee has made the reluctant decision that it will not hold its July 4 fireworks show this year, the second time that the event has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Committee spokesman Jeremy Elliott said it was a tough decision for everyone on the committee because residents have expressed a need for something to look forward to and a desire to bring back the time-honored tradition.
But he said the conditions just aren’t right for the celebration, which draws a large crowd of spectators to Mathews High School each year. In spite of progress on the vaccines, uncertainty with COVID-19 variants “makes it difficult to move forward this year,” he said.
“If these new variants come out, we could be right back where we were last year this time,” said Elliott. “Right now, it’s hard to tell what July will bring.”
On top of that, Elliott said the committee couldn’t conduct its raffle sales this year because all of the festivals where those tickets are sold ea...