Dr. Bonnie Henry said in a briefing on Monday that large-scale, outdoor events are out of the question this summer. And fall. And winter. Dr. Henry’s statement was simply a confirmation of an inevitable bummer that we all saw coming, but I think a lot of us were holding out hope that surely two summers in a row would not be dampened by the pandemic.
How naïve we were.
In the last fourteen months, we have seen a lot of beloved annual events be temporarily and rightfully kiboshed in the wake of the global pandemic. You’d think we would be used to it by now. You would think.
(webentwicklerin / Pixabay)
But more than a year into this whole mess, I admit that I flinched when I saw that the Vancouver Pride Festival was cancelled for a the second consecutive year (although they have other virtual and/or small, ticketed events one can physically go to). Pillars of normalcy being toppled over twice in a row delivers a different sting.
Along with Dr. Henry’s comments, yesterday’s rescheduling of the Honda Celebration of Light served to be another grim reminder that we’re not quite out of the COVID-laden woods just yet.
The 2021 Honda Celebration of Light has been postponed to 2022 when we will return bigger and better than ever for our 30th season on July 23, 27 and 30, 2022. See full statement here: https://t.co/cxO3xJTfal
— Celebration of Light (@CelebOfLight) May 3, 2021
Although, there seems to be glimmering hope on the horizon. The rescheduling seems a little more confident and less hesitant this time.
In both the United States and United Kingdom, where vaccination efforts have been more effective, live events are being booked for 2022. Even coastal BC-based band Mother Mother has a lineup of shows in the US and UK as early as January 2022.
While I pessimistically wonder if Canada will ever see a reality where events can simply happen on their scheduled dates, I optimistically hope to play a lot of cultural catch-up around this time next year.
2022 could just be the year when we can all safely take in music festivals, fireworks, Pride parades and everything in between with two years’ worth of pent-up party energy. Or two years’ worth of weird, ‘I’ve only talked to my roommate and my cat’ energy. Either way, I’m looking forward!