PROVINCETOWN – The Provincetown Select Board voted 4-1 to take no action on whether a modified version of the Carnival Parade will be granted the required permitting to happen this summer.
“As the pandemic winds down in this country and the vaccine rate ramps up, and it becomes safer to gather outside as we transition back to normal, a majority of the business community now wants a parade,” said Executive Director of the Provincetown Business Guild Bob Sanborn.
The “walking” parade modified format would swap out the many themed floats and trucks that would normally headline the parade with bicycles, golf carts, wagons and 1,000 walking pedestrians.
“We believe a pedestrian walking parade including bikes and carts would be simpler and a safer alternative to a traditional parade,” said Sanborn.
The plan has been met with concern by Provincetown Police Chief Golden.
One of Golden’s concerns is the shortened time frame that the event would have to be planned.
Carnival is scheduled to take place August 15th to August 20th which would give the event organizers and police less than two months to plan the event. Typically, Carnival is planned over the span of 6-8 months.
The gathering of large crowds also provided social distancing concerns, which was the reason the float, truck and car parade was cancelled because of fear of large crowds congregating at the start of the parade.
The hydration of the estimated 1,000 marchers was also a concern listed by Golden.
By Will Moore, CapeCod.com News Center
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