Freedom has new meaning in America this Fourth of July weekend — even the fundamental freedom of assembly has new implications.
Last year, health officials were warning against social gatherings, hoping to ward off a surge of coronavirus deaths. That month, the United States’ weekly COVID-19 death toll was rising to more than 5,000 — and much worse was ahead.
Now, although caution and uncertainty linger — notably with concerns about a new, more transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus — authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, say that people who have been fully vaccinated may gather safely, without worrying about wearing masks or infecting others.
And in Dallas County, vaccinations are accelerating far faster than the virus. Nearly half of people who are eligible to get shots have been fully inoculated, a figure comparable to statewide rates. The number of fatalities has fallen accordingly. On some days, the county is reporting one death, something almost unimaginable a year ago.
Here’s how some people in the Dallas area celebrated their freedom this weekend in a nation that is emerging from isolation and the fear of sickness.
Parades make comeback
Fourth of July is synonymous with the annual Lakewood community parade for Jason Lovvorn, who grew up in the neighborhood. Every year, he recalled, his family dressed up and decorated their boat in different themes for the event.
Lovvorn is head of school at First Baptist Academy in nearby Buckner Terrace, which has numerous students from the Lakewood area and has adopted the parade as a tradition.
“I just love that the entire community comes together and celebrates America, celebrates community and celebrates the freedom that we have,” he said.
Before the parade began, parents snapped photos of the academy’s float, with red, white and blue balloons providing festive adornment and student cheerleaders sporting pompoms lined up on it.
Al See, chairman of the Lakewood Parade Committee, came to the festivities dressed up as Uncle Sam. He passed out pins that proclaimed this year’s theme — “Lakewood Opening Ceremony” — a nod to the upcoming Olympic Games.
See said he relished the chance to once again don his costume as he had for years before the pandemic. The parade’s comeback signals that the neighborhood is returning to its pre-pandemic life, he said.
“The parade is a strong thread in the social fabric of our neighborhood,” he said.
Through a child’s eyes
In Lake Highlands, families lined Church Road to take in dozens of patriotically decked out floats as they glided by and children ran out to pick up candy tossed their way.
The annual parade, put on by the Exchange Club of Lake Highlands, was followed by a carnival at the Lake Highlands Aquatic Center, complete with bouncy castles, food trucks and games.
For Lauren Moorse, the last year has been full of change, complete with a pregnancy and new baby. Moorse spent last year’s Fourth of July at her in-laws’ house after learning the month before that she was pregnant.
“With a 3-year-old, there’s so many new experiences that he just hasn’t experienced in the last year and a half,” she said. “Pre-pandemic, he was so young and he doesn’t remember, so it’s fun. It’s like everything is new again for him and us to see it through his eyes.”
Moorse said the parade represents the freedom her community is gaining back as higher vaccination rates and low case counts allow her to feel comfortable attending with her infant and toddler.
Robert Walne, president of the Exchange Club, said last year was the first time that the organization had to cancel the parade since its inception in the 1970s.
“This time last year it was right in the heart of everything going on,” Walne said. “It’s always been a great community event, and so I think it’s really special to be able to be back this year after a year off.”
Feels like the Fourth
Dallas-area residents spent Saturday more freely enjoying other activities and attractions, too.
At Kiest Park in central Oak Cliff, groups of people sat in lawn chairs around their cars in between rounds at an adult softball tournament.
Natasha and Jim Reeves, 39 and 54, chatted with their friends, 44-year-old Kyna Bradford and 55-year-old Stacy Cosby while waiting for their next game.
Reeves, who said she plans to attend parties on the Fourth with her husband and friends, said celebrating the Fourth of July this year feels “one hundred percent better.”
“Last year when the holidays came, it didn’t feel like the holidays. Nobody was in the mood for it,” she said. “This is amazing compared to last year.”
The group said they were grateful that they again could comfortably get together and play in tournaments. The pandemic put their regular games on hold until late last year, Bradford said.
“We are the type of people that softball keeps us sane Monday through Friday. We live for softball weekends,” she said. “When COVID came around and there were no tournaments we could play in, it was devastating for a lot of us.”
The return of softball is especially meaningful to Bradford because of a pact she made with her 37-year-old niece, who has cancer and has undergone chemotherapy.
“I told her, ‘As long as I can continue to fight at my age and play the game, I want you to continue to fight against cancer,’” she said. “That is my motivation.”
Some remain wary
In east Oak Cliff, Maira Paz, 38, and Jose Zapata, 33, spent time Saturday mid-afternoon with their daughters at Beckley Saner Park.
The girls were among about a dozen children playing in the park’s splash pad, many carrying water toys and eating ice cream sold at a truck parked across the street.
“This year is totally different. It’s a whole different process now that we’re coming back to reality,” Zapata said. “It’s starting to be a lot better, [but] still things are a little twisted up.”
The couple said they planned to spend the Fourth cooking out together and popping fireworks.
While they both are vaccinated, their daughters, who are ages 9, 7 and 5, aren’t yet eligible for a shot, which the couple said was a big factor when they planned their weekend celebration.
“Now that everybody’s getting together, I’m really still debating doing it that way. I’d still rather do my own thing,” Zapata said, noting that relatives who they normally would spend the holiday with will celebrate separately this year.
Paz said she and two of her daughters tested positive for COVID-19 in November. She said she’s been sick before, “but not like that.”
She said her experience has made her hesitant to be in large groups, and she still fears cases could rise if people gather more often.
“I feel like this is just going to get worse [again],” she said. “I feel like we still shouldn’t get in groups.”
Hayley Morris, 26, said she also doesn’t yet feel wholly safe interacting with large indoor groups, even with the recent relaxing of pandemic restrictions.
“I still get nervous in crowded rooms,” said Morris, who was grabbing drinks on the vast open-air patio of Oak Lawn’s Katy Trail Ice House with a friend. “There are things about a post-COVID world that I’m grateful to have, but they make me uneasy, when maybe they never did before.”
In Irving, resident Sterling Moxley played disc golf at Fritz Park with members of the Irving Disc Sports Association.
The disc group has quadrupled in membership during the pandemic, Moxley said — a surge he speculates was fueled by people having more spare time.
“It’s one thing we can do and stay away from each other outdoors,” he said. “Our game has grown astronomically.”
Nearby, a handful of families pushed children on swings and visited at a picnic table. Mararita Rios, an Irving resident originally from Guanajuato, Mexico, was among them.
Rios didn’t get to see her nieces this time last year. Like many kids, they spent much of the past year attending school online. This year, Rios gets to celebrate with the girls and her sister, father and husband by sharing a meal and watching fireworks.
“It feels a little back to normal,” the 29-year-old said.
The simple things
Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas was teeming Saturday afternoon with families who came out to attend a concert organized by Irving-based Chuck. E. Cheese.
Siobhan Dowell, who was enjoying the atmosphere with her sister and their families, said she feels like she has gotten a new lease on life after the long, grueling pandemic.
“Last year, we were all stuck in the house, weren’t we?” she said, turning toward her sister, whose family is from Houston. “We didn’t really do anything for July Fourth. So yeah, it’s a big change.”
Dowell said that she feels fortunate that her family has been vaccinated against COVID-19, but she still has reservations about crowded indoor settings.
Despite such lingering worries, she said she has a new appreciation for simple things, such as being able to visit the park with loved ones.
“I’m never going to take that for granted ever again,” she said of celebrating the holiday with family.
‘I feel free’
Arica Garcia said she came to the park with close family friends after attending Irving’s Fourth of July parade.
Garcia, wearing a dress displaying the American flag, said she was saddened after last year’s parade — like so many around the U.S. — was canceled.
“The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday because of things like family, fun, food and the fireworks. It does feel good to be able to get out and celebrate,” she said.
Garcia said seeing people at the park on Saturday was a stark contrast to what people have experienced over the past months.“Through the pandemic, everyone was like, ‘Don’t go here, don’t go there. Wash your hands, watch this, watch that.’ I do feel like more people are out living their life,” she said. “I feel free.”
She added that the last year, as was the case for Dowell, has allowed her to reflect on the aspects of life that were marred by the pandemic.
“A lot of people didn’t get to make it out, so it just makes you feel grateful for your health, and for family and friends.”
Social-justice impact
Jeanetta Glasper, who was at Klyde Warren with her two daughters, said the family moved to the Dallas area from Mississippi during the pandemic.
Though her family was new to the area and wanted to learn more about the city, Glasper said most of their social interactions were limited to church gatherings.
The sight of kids chasing pigeons and patrons standing nonchalantly in line at food trucks, she said, was a welcome change from last year, when she tested positive for COVID-19 and her children’s education was affected.
“It feels like it’s back to normal like how it once was before the pandemic,” she said.
While she agrees that the pandemic has given many Americans a new perspective on freedom, Glasper, who is Black, said her idea of freedom was also impacted by the social justice movement that swept the nation in 2020.
“I do feel like what happened with George Floyd did bring about some change” she said, adding that she believes much work remains.
Kaboom Town pulls crowd
Thousands descended on parks, restaurants and hotels for Addison’s nationally recognized Fourth of July festival, Kaboom Town.
The 2020 event was canceled because of the pandemic. This year’s celebration was limited to 75% capacity, but still scores of people flocked to Addison Circle Park and businesses across the town for live music, food and drink specials, watch parties and — of course — the fireworks.
Inside Addison Circle Park, Kendra Manny, 45, of Carrollton, set out a lawn chair at about 5:30 p.m. next to her cousin, Tara Durr, 44, of Plano. The pair said the Fourth itself doesn’t mean much to them, but watching fireworks and seeing people out and about again after a year they described as lonely, boring and scary was “a relief.”
Manny said she hadn’t seen Durr and other family members in about a year because of the pandemic. As hundreds poured into the park, she described being out in such a large crowds as “a little weird, but since we’re outside in the open it doesn’t make me as nervous.”
She said she put countless miles on her car reuniting with friends and family for the holiday weekend.
”I miss people, but I’m like, ‘OK, don’t get too close,’” she said with a laugh.
