Friends of Don cancels Fourth of July parade
The committee charged with organizing Sanibel-Captiva’s annual Annual Independence Day Parade has decided the longstanding community event will, out of an abundance of caution, be canceled again this summer.
The decision followed a meeting of the Friends of Don committee members and sponsors of the event. The primary focus was to determine the best way to follow the CDC’s COVID-19 guidelines for keeping participants, spectators and volunteers safe.
“Our overwhelming concern was ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone involved,” committee Co-Chair Trish Phillips said. “After a thoughtful and expansive review of the current pandemic conditions, we felt there was no safe alternative but to cancel the parade again this year.”
“We remain optimistic that, with more vaccines in arms and reaching herd immunity becoming a hoped for reality, the 2022 Sanibel-Captiva Independence Day Parade will return next summer for families and friends to gather and celebrate island style,” she added.
The Friends of Don was created in memory of Don Bissell in 1994 as a way to carry on the parade he helped make such a beloved annual gathering for the islands.