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The Dripby Timothy Dashiell1:42 pmAug 26, 20210

Abbreviated fireworks to take place next week at the Inner Harbor

The big July 4th event was canceled this year due to the pandemic, but 15 minutes worth of fireworks are now planned despite the recent Covid surge

Above: Fireworks at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor were an Independence Day tradition before Covid. (VisitMaryland.org)

Due to the pandemic, the July4th fireworks at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor were canceled, but not to worry – a free event involving fireworks and music is happening at the waterfront in 10 days.

The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) announced today that “Baltimore’s End of Summer Extravaganza,” which they are also calling “Fall Back Safely,” is taking place on Sunday, September 5.

The celebration at the Inner Harbor Amphitheatre & Promenade is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. and end with fireworks commencing at 8:30 p.m.

“The event will conclude with a spectacular 15-minute fireworks show by Pyrotecnico choreographed to music,” the release from BOPA says. “The choreographed fireworks display will shoot from a barge hauled to the Inner Harbor.”

Free Face Masks

What about the risk of the spread of Covid?

When announcing the cancellation of 4th of July fireworks last May, BOPA CEO Donna Drew Sawyer had cited pandemic safety as the reason, saying “the last thing we wanted to be was a super-spreader.”

Infections now are nowhere near the levels they were in the spring, but they have been rising as part of a resurgence blamed on the highly contagious delta variant.

The seven-day average of new Covid cases in Baltimore is up 354% from four weeks earlier, according to the health department’s Covid-19 dashboard.

City officials say they are taking steps to minimize risk at the event.

The BOPA release said free face masks and hand sanitizer will be distributed “as a reminder to stay safe during the event and attendees will be encouraged to practice social distancing.”

The organizers are also “exploring a partnership with the the city health department to offer free vaccinations and Covid tests by a local health-care facility on site.”

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