Independence Day celebration in Stockyards ‘dialed back’ due to coronavirus pandemic
FORT WORTH, Texas - A multi-day Independence Day celebration in the Fort Worth Stockyards was “dialed back” in the wake of the worsening coronavirus pandemic.
The Red, White and Boots festivities usually feature live music, food, games and fun. Friday afternoon was the scheduled kickoff with social distancing strongly urged by organizers.
But there wasn’t much going on Friday afternoon, with few people out and about and no scheduled programming visible to FOX4 cameras.
Gov. Abbott’s executive order on Thursday not only instituted a mask requirement statewide, but it also allowed local authorities to restrict outdoor gatherings of 10 people or more. When asked, a Red, White and Boots spokesperson would only say the event had been “scaled back” with no further explanation of what that meant.
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Despite that, a brand new Stockyards restaurant was preparing to open its doors this holiday weekend -- even with the mask mandate and 50 percent capacity rules.
“We are going to have our hurdles, we are going to have our challenges, but there’s no time like the present,” said owner Marcus Paslay.
He delayed opening Provender Hall back in March because of the pandemic shutdown. He says on Saturday, it’s come what may.
“We decided to try to push forward and try to learn how to coexist with everything that we have going on right now. We’re pretty excited about it,” Paslay said.