Growing up, it was important to me to attend the various music and art festivals throughout the region. These experiences shaped who I am today as well as giving me outlets for creativity and inspiration to work harder. As an adult, I have made sure to involve my children in these events as well as giving them rich experiences at museums and science centers.

The week before the COVID-19 shutdown happened, my son asked to go to the National Aviary in Pittsburgh in addition to our weekly visit to Smart Center Market in Center Wheeling. I love that my kids want to visit these places and learn, and I would never discourage that until this March. I saw the news reports, I checked BBC news and other outlets around the globe, and I had to say “No.”

You see, we had been to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History the last week of the year to see their special exhibits before the holiday season was over. A few days later we were all sick. Really sick. Pneumonia all around for us. I usually tough these things out as those of you that know me have witnessed. This was different, and I was down for the count. This experience in addition to the unknowns with the new virus spreading gave me a deeper understanding of the health risks associated with large gatherings of people.

I am lucky that I never had to worry about being immunocompromised. Something as simple as a trip to a museum never gave me pause, but now the grocery store gives me the heebie-jeebies. There are no quick trips to anywhere for just that one thing you forgot or to indulge a craving. We no longer forget. Everything is planned.

As the months have rolled past, I have watched friends and colleagues make hard decisions about their events. At first, everyone was fairly sure May and June would be probable cancellations. Almost all major festivals at Heritage Port in Wheeling are cancelled or pending just waiting and hoping something changes. All small events I know of are cancelled. No live music, no theatre, nothing.

Robert Strong, co-owner of Smart Centre Market excitedly awaits the installation of the T. Rex head
Robert Strong, co-owner of Smart Centre Market excitedly awaits the installation of the T. Rex head.

Too Early?

I have heard people grumble about it being just too early to cancel late summer and early fall events. What they do not see are the months of planning and fundraising that go into these events. If your major sponsors are losing business, they cannot help. No one wants to risk losing money or the immense amount of time they would have to invest in making these events happen.

Just this week the Wheeling fireworks were cancelled for Independence Day. People are upset, but this just is not a situation that has right and wrong answers. When it is all said and done, how will we know what what we can hope was prevented? People will rail against closures, masks, and restrictions if COVID-19 does not get worse. But isn’t that the point? How would you feel if you had to make the decision? What if they held the festivals, and the virus spread horribly, and many people died? I cannot fault anyone for erring on the side of caution.

Surely we all know people that think it is just a huge conspiracy, but do those people have a sick loved one? I am betting that if it were their family that was sick, their perspective would be entirely different. Is it that hard to try to see things from other perspectives, to respect that your situation is not everyone’s reality? So many things I miss like restaurants, libraries, museums, music, and just seeing people without masks and sanitizer and fear. I want my children to have normalcy, but I am not willing to sacrifice someone else’s health to do so, and I respect our event planners and institutions for their decisions.