The Fourth of July breakfast — a Manteca Independence Day staple for more than 40 years — will take place this year after all.
But it will be in a format that has social distancing in mind. It is being switched to a drive-thru event taking place on Saturday, July 4, at the Manteca Senior Center on Cherry Lane instead of Angelano’s on North Main Street.
That means half of the traditional Manteca Fourth of July activities will take place this year. The city is making arrangements for the annual aerial fireworks show. The community-style celebration with games, vendors, and live music will not take place at the Big League Dreams sports complex nor will the Fourth of July parade. Plugs were pulled on both due to restrictions in place to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Manteca Kiwanis Fourth of July breakfast serves as a reunion of sorts as many of the 800 to 1,000 attendees partake of the event as much to chat with old friends as they do for the meal.
The service club had cancelled the breakfast due to COVID-19 restrictions. But recent changes and the city allowing the use of the senior center kitchen has made a drive-thru breakfast possible.
Kiwanis Club member David Cushman said details such as the menu and price will be made available in the coming weeks.
“We wanted to get the word out that we would be able to have the breakfast after all,” Cushman said.
He emphasized that all appropriate social distancing protocols will be in place.
The breakfast is the service club’s largest fundraiser of the year. The service club uses profits from the breakfast for community endeavors such as the free Easter egg hunt at Northgate Park they were forced to cancel, scholarships for graduating seniors, and support of youth groups
How aerial fireworks
would happen this year
City Manager Miranda Lutzow has confirmed the city will stage aerial fireworks over the wastewater treatment plant as they have done in previous years.
But instead of allowing people to gather on large grassy areas such as nearby parks or in the bleachers or grassy areas at the Big League Dreams complex, people will be advised to watch the fireworks from parked cars.
The city plans to distribute a map showing various viewing locations so that people can adhere to social distancing rules.
Non-profits chosen in a lottery earlier this year will still be allowed to sell Safe and Sane fireworks. Phantom as well as T-N-T — the two firms that work with non-profits in Manteca that are allowed to sell fireworks — have developed social distancing rules and signage for booth workers and customers.
Fireworks sales will start on Sunday, June 28. Under state law if a city opts to allow the sale of safe and sane fireworks for the week leading up to the Fourth of July each year they also have to allow their discharge including during the six days leading up to Independence Day.
The 2,400 Flags Over Manteca will also line the streets on the Fourth of July after missing Memorial Day.
The reason for the flags not being placed for Memorial Day was due to the chamber deciding to protect the integrity of the flags by having them dry cleaned. They raised $60,000 to acquire the flags in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and have been placing them along streets more than 190 times for major holidays as well as processions to honor the fallen.
Social distancing protocols imposed to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of a work party needed to reattach the flags to the 2,400 flag poles.
And while those protocols have been eased, many of the chamber members that are small business owners or work for small businesses have been scrambling to get what they need in place to reopen so they can resume making a living.
Two days have been set aside on Thursday, June 18, and Friday, June 19, to put the flags and poles back together in the parking lot at Yosemite Avenue and Main Street.
That means the flags will not be up on Flag Day on June 14.
To make that happen the chamber needs volunteers — especially those with cordless screwdrivers — on June 18 or June 19 to help. Those that would like to help to email joann@manteca.org
Volunteers will be social distanced with hopefully pop up tents to shade against the sun.
21 COVID-19 patients
currently in
hospitals countywide
There were 21 people hospitalized in San Joaquin County with COVID-19 as of Friday at 11:40 a.m. There have been 200 people hospitalized in the county since the pandemic started in March among those who have become ill with COVID-19 to a degree they needed to be admitted.
The accumulative total of ICU admissions since the first of March is 83.
There have been 36 deaths so far or 3.4 percent of the 200 people who became so ill they required hospitalization
There are currently 283 people known to have COVID-19 in San Joaquin County — the highest count on any given day so far. There have been 1,050 confirmed cases with 767 recoveries.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
