COVID canceled ‘live events’ for Plaza Lighting, as long as you don’t count fireworks
Country Club Plaza officials have said there’s “little reason to gather” at the Plaza for the annual lighting ceremony because there would be “no live event to view.” Documents, however, show otherwise.
Fireworks display permits obtained by The Star through a Missouri Sunshine request show that Wald & Co. of Greenwood, Missouri, plans to shoot off fireworks from two displays Thanksgiving night that would go off toward the end of the lightning ceremony that is being televised in a virtual event.
Plaza officials on Monday confirmed they plan to go ahead with the fireworks display on the rooftop of 440 Nichols Road. The other display is at the InterContinental Kansas City at the Plaza hotel at 401 Ward Parkway.
“The fireworks will be a brief, two-minute accompaniment, to enliven the broadcast, and to mark the moment when the switch is flipped and the Plaza lights up for the first time this season,” Kasey Vena, general manager of the Country Club Plaza said in an email. “This is not a sustained fireworks program like we have shared with the community in the past.
“As such, we continue to recommend, for the health and safety of the community, that the ceremony be viewed as a broadcast from the comfort of home – not live on the Plaza.”
The Plaza intentionally did not promote the fireworks to avoid drawing any additional crowds, Vena said when asked why Plaza officials said there would not be a live event despite plans to display fireworks.
Last week, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas instituted new restrictions on gatherings and restaurants in the city in hopes of curbing the spread of the virus.
The KC metro added more than 750 COVID-19 cases Monday as hospitals in the region reported record numbers of patients being treated for the virus. The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas has a total of 75,907 cases and 954 deaths to date.
The InterContinental plans to move forward with its fireworks as well, said Peter Austin, general manger, saying guests will be able to see them from their rooms or restaurant.
For those who gather on the Plaza, he said he hopes everybody is safe and follows social distancing.
“I do hope anybody who does watch enjoys them,” he said.
The Kansas City Health Department said that because of the changes to the ceremony it doesn’t qualify as an official event that would typically require the Plaza to obtain a waiver.
“We expect people who want to enjoy the lighting and the fireworks will do so from their cars or stay within their own bubble group, masked and distanced to keep themselves and other people safe Thanksgiving night,” said Michelle Pekarsky, public information officer for the Kansas City Health Department.
The annual lighting of the Plaza Lights have been a Kansas City Thanksgiving tradition of more than 90 years that typically attracts crowds of thousands of people.
Because of COVID-19, The Plaza and KMBC plan to host a broadcast-only Thanksgiving event designed to be viewed from home. The hour-long production, sponsored by Evergy, will being at 6 p.m. Thursday and will be carried by KMBC.
Rather than the usual celebrity, the flipping of the switch will pay tribute to frontline workers in the COVID-19 pandemic, such as doctors, nurses, grocery store clerks, delivery drivers, utility workers, teachers, farmers and others.
The fireworks are expected to be launched around 6:50 p.m., according to the permits
While some restaurants will be open on Thanksgiving, all Plaza shops will be closed.
“Crowd management will be managed by security and” the Kansas City Police Department, Vena said Monday. “We do not disclose the details of our security program in order to ensure that it remains effective.”
The Plaza has hired off-duty officers to ensure safety, Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, said last week.
“We also will have on-duty resources available to respond to any issues or calls for service …,” he said. “We will ensure everyone’s safety and address any disturbances or physical altercations that affect anyone’s safety.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2020 at 5:29 PM.
