Enfield Town Green Seems Awfully Empty This Week

ENFIELD, CT — Something struck me as odd as I was driving through Enfield this morning. I went down Elm Street and crossed Route 5 onto North Main Street, then it suddenly hit me. Usually North Main Street is blocked off during this week as final preparations are made for the annual Taste of Enfield, a huge part of the 4th of July Town Celebration. I ordinarily would have had to detour left toward High Street or right toward Alden Avenue to reach my destination.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed all that. For the first time since its inception 35 years ago, the Town Celebration will not take place this year. No music, no craft show, no vendor booths, no parade, no eating contests, no softball games, no hospitality tent, no fireworks. Nothing.

It seemed almost eerie as I circled back and gazed at the empty town green. Normally dozens of volunteers would have been finishing assembling booths, putting up snow fencing, testing electrical outlets, running around like madmen. None of that is happening this year.

Izzy Post, who began volunteering at the Celebration when she was 12, became a director at 19 and is currently in charge of marketing, lamented the absence of the event this morning on her Facebook page. It is published here with her permission.

I never would have imagined I would have to make this post, and I hope I will never have to again. Today I’m not taking the start of my “vacation” running around on the green for the longest and fastest 5 days of the year. For the first time in my life, since I can remember or not, there is no @enfieldfojtc. There’s no snow fencing, no stage, no zip ties, radios, or tool trailers. No tokens, no tents, no signs, no hanging lights. There’s no lugging soda, or tase vendors, no car show, no road race. There’s no craft fair, no kids activities, no concerts, parade, or golf carts. There’s no refrigerator truck breaking down (because it happens every year), no running for last minute supplies, no painting stars, no late nights AND early mornings. There’s no new pairs of socks, jars of powder, or begging someone to borrow Advil. No fireworks, no thousands of people, no inside jokes behind the scenes, and my heart HURTS.

I know we did what was best for the future of this event, to keep our community safe and ensure we are around for years to come. Yet, I still feel like I failed. Was there a way to save this year? Did we do enough? Can we do more? How do we manage to keep people engaged for a year from now? Will we be able to do this a year from now? The uncertainty of what the “new normal” will be is something that looms over all of us.

For now we hope, we reflect, and wait for what the future holds. For me, it’ll be on the green where I’ll always be the weekend after the 4th. Remembering and reflecting on 24 incredible years of memories and putting my mind to work for next year as we continue to take this to the next level and stay around for generations to come.

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