Marana’s annual Holiday Festival and Christmas Tree Lighting will be converted into a drive through event this year as the coronavirus pandemic continues, officials said this week.
The decision came after discussion Tuesday about how the event could be safely held in-person. The Marana Town Council ultimately decided on the less risky option, saying it would be difficult to control crowd behavior in a fully in-person event and could potentially increase community spread of coronavirus.
To date, Pima County has recorded over 26,000 cases of COVID-19.
The holiday drive-thru event is “still pretty preliminary,†said Vic Hathaway, communications and special events manager for the town of Marana.
The annual festival typically brings in about 5,000 people and includes a variety of performances, food vendors, games, a holiday market and the lighting of a 25-foot tree.
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“Our major challenges have to do with crowding and particular event features that have a lot of close contact,†Hathaway said. “Our event is very, very popular and we have a lot of businesses that see this as a great opportunity, so we try to pack them in as much as we can.â€
The council members discussed the idea of starting the drive-thru event on Marana Main Street and having attendees drive past Marana Health Center and Marana Municipal Complex, which is where the festival is typically held.
Distillers at Whiskey Del Bac harvest several barrels of whiskey on, Oct. 2, 2020. The process includes checking fluid levels in the barrels, tasting for quality and pouring the whiskey into a vat where water will be added before going onto bottling. (Josh Galemore / ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥)
The drive-thru event will likely feature the Christmas tree in a roundabout on Marana Main Street and costumed characters along the sidewalk who will hand out goodie bags to each vehicle.
All of the council members, including Mayor Ed Honea, agreed with the drive-thru concept.
“That drive-thru concept to me seems like it could work,†Honea said. “That way you have people in their car, the kids can wave at Santa, they can get a bag of goodies, a candy cane or an ornament and we would at least have some kind of event getting people out, but also keeping them safe.â€
Vice Mayor Jon Post was the lone dissenter, saying he believed the event could still be held in person.
He suggested moving the event to a bigger space or opening the venue up so that people can social distance.
“The other thing you could do is make a light show with all of the trees in the entire complex. You could link them all together so that the light show would be visible from anywhere that you’re standing in the entire area of property that the town owns. There’s 20 plus acres out there. I mean if we can’t put an event on in that much space, goodness sakes, we shouldn’t be planning events,†he said.
He also said that the Pima County Health Department could hold food vendors accountable to CDC guidelines, which would include social distancing in lines and frequent cleaning.
The event is still in the development stages, but the Town of Marana hopes to have event details by the end of this month, Hathaway wrote in an email.
Photos: Autumn arrives in the Santa Catalina Mountains
Fall colors
Light shines through a group of leaves changing colors in Marshall Gulch in Summerhaven, Ariz., on October 8, 2020.
Fall colors
A hiker and their dog walk past trees beginning to change colors along Bear Wallow trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains, on October 8, 2020.Â
Fall colors
Two people walk past tree beginning to change colors in Ski Valley near Summerhaven, Ariz., on October 8, 2020.Â
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A bird flies out of a group of trees with yellow leaves in Summerhaven, Ariz., on October 8, 2020.Â
Fall colors
Trees are beginning to change colors for the fall season along Bear Wallow trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains, on October 8, 2020.Â
Fall colors
The tops of trees start to change their color along Bear Wallow trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains, on October 8, 2020.Â
Fall colors
Light shines through leaves beginning to change colors in Ski Valley near Summerhaven, Ariz., on October 8, 2020.Â
Fall colors
A women collects colored leaves for at home art projects which have fallen from the trees above along Bear Wallow trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains, on October 8, 2020.Â
Fall colors
A red leaf rest on the ground along Bear Wallow trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains, on October 8, 2020.Â
Fall colors
Light shines through a group of leaves changing colors in Marshall Gulch at Summerhaven, Ariz., on October 8, 2020.
Fall colors
An employee from The Mount Lemmon Cookie Cabin Pizzeria and Bakery walks though two large trees beginning to change colors in front of the pizzeria and bakery in Summerhaven, Ariz., on October 8, 2020.Â
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Customers walk past a tree changing colors while waiting for The Mount Lemmon Cookie Cabin Pizzeria and Bakery to open in Summerhaven, Ariz., on October 8, 2020.Â
Fall colors
A pile of dried leaves rest on the ground at Marshall Gulch in Summerhaven, Ariz., on October 8, 2020.
Fall colors
While looking at the changing colors along a hiking trail in Bear Wallow, a hiker walks past a tree with red leaves along Bear Wallow trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains, on October 8, 2020.Â
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Light shines on a tree changing colors as well as a tree which hasn't begun to change along Bear Wallow trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains, on October 8, 2020.Â
Anika Pasilis is a University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ journalism student and an apprentice for the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.
