City Of Duluth Cancels Labor Day Weekend Fireworks

The Labor Day Weekend fireworks that were planned by the City of Duluth have been cancelled.  A release from Duluth Mayor Emily Larson on August 11 made the cancellation official - explaining that the reason is COVID-19-related.  The fireworks - which were to be held in conjunction with the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center - had been placed on the September calendar as a re-schedule from Independence Day - which had also been cancelled due to the pandemic.

The concern is both the large number of people who usually attend events like this as well as the number of cases of COVID-19 - which are still high.  In the release from the city, Mayor Larson shared:

“When we postponed the Independence Day fireworks earlier this year, we had hoped that circumstances would improve to hold the fireworks display over the Labor Day weekend.  Last year, we had 10,000 people come to Bayfront to celebrate Independence Day, which doesn’t work within Minnesota’s Stay Safe Phase III plan, which allows for up to 250 people at indoor and outdoor events.”

The move to cancel the Labor Day Weekend fireworks follows other recent cancellations around the Northland.  Many events that had been postponed earlier this year when the pandemic (and the resulting shut downs) started are reaching their rescheduled dates; as the number of cases continue to remain high, the likelihood of these events (in their rescheduled form) happening is dwindling.

COVID-19 has brought many changes and challenges for the City of Duluth.  Along with budget cuts and layoffs, a large number of city-run buildings also remain closed to the general public.