ANDERSON, Ind. (WTHR) - The anticipation of warmer weather invites many of us outdoors, whether it's to enjoy concerts or kids having fun at summer camp.
But a season filled with the uncertainty of COVID-19's path has led to the cancellation of popular events and activities in Anderson.
"We're continuing to see cases come in and we've certainly not reached our peak yet. We knew that no matter what ends up happening from the federal government or even the state government that a lot of folks are going to still be at risk," said Anderson Mayor Tom Broderick.
Anderson's cancellations include the annual citywide clean-up and summer camps at Anderson parks. The city pool will remain closed and there won't be a downtown concert series. Additionally, fireworks and festivities for the 4th of July are canceled and the mayor's annual charity ball for teachers has been pushed to 2021.
"What would really be horrible is to get back in action too fast and have everything we went through to be for nothing, so we want to make sure that we time that right, but at the same time we want to make sure our folks are safe," said Broderick.
While other cities haven't announced a decision to cancel summer activities, Mooresville has canceled everything through June 1. Brownsburg hopes to make a decision on its summer camp start date by mid-May.
"It takes a lot of organizations to do these programs and we wanted to make sure that folks were safe," Broderick said.
Broderick says people can still stay active outdoors.
"There's still going to be things to do throughout the summer, but some of these things where large gatherings occur is just something we're going to have to wait for until next season," said Broderick.