Just five and a half months ago, in the City of Clovis, families could be seen attending events that brought the community together. Old Town Clovis was buzzing in the nights with the streets filled with family and friends gathering.
Today the streets are quieter, and citizens are doing their part of social distancing. Social distancing means that events must be canceled to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.
Not only is California shut down, the communities are being kept from gathering, which is also hindering the City of Clovis financially.
Annual events like Big Hat Days and the Clovis Rodeo bring in millions each year to the Clovis economy. The organizers that put on these events and various non-profits have greater meaning behind them than just social gatherings. Some of these organizations’ non-profits include the Boys and Girls Club, Red Cross, and Boy Scouts.
The Memorial Run and Trail Fest, two major events in Clovis canceled this year, are big fundraiser events for the Clovis Senior Activity Center and other local organizations.
Sierra Vista Mall is also known to put on a variety of events. With the indoor mall being shut down, it no longer has events scheduled for the rest of this year.
Some of those events included their Back-to-School backpack giveaway, Boo Fest, and Santa’s Arrival – all of which bring thousands of families to the mall.
The annual Crab Fest hosted by the Clovis Rotary was canceled earlier this year; that event alone benefits about a hundred non-profit organizations.
The repercussions of the events being canceled are that they are finding alternative ways to sustain these non-profit organizations.
“Our community is a resilient community that doesn’t take adversity… the community [are] problem solvers,” says Lorenzo Rios, CEO of Clovis Veterans Memorial District.
The Clovis Veterans Memorial District is a state of the art facility that hosts many events throughout the year. Their annual Memorial Day and Veterans Day celebrations are some of their biggest events.
Rios said that small events would take place throughout the year to keep those organizations running.
“It’s the ability to be compassionate and so giving, that’s why you see these non-profits continuing to fill the gaps where government, business or the community cannot provide. You see non-profits, they are good people who volunteer their time and treasure to address a need,” says Rios.
Clovis Night Out
The 10th Annual Clovis Night Out hosted by Clovis Police Department was set to take
place on October 3, but now has been canceled. In past years, the event hosted about 10 to 15,000 people. Families come out to this event where they can enjoy live music, food, and fireworks with the Clovis PD.
The event has had a positive impact on the city of Clovis because it creates a relationship between local law enforcement and its residents. It has been beneficial to the younger generations to encourage them to seek a career in law enforcement. As well as the Clovis PD uses the opportunity to make recruitments.
“We are having to be creative on how we maintain the connection with the community,” says Jim Munro, Lieutenant of Clovis PD. Munro said he is coming up with a new way to keep that connection by working with the social media coordinator. The Clovis PD uses social media like Twitter and Instagram, where the community can even keep up with their k-9 unit.
“If your community doesn’t trust you, then you’re not going to be successful as a police department,” says Munro.
Positive community contact is vital to this police department, and they do a great job of doing it despite the circumstances. As a result, Munro said the police department has a lot of support in the community. Munro misses the smiling face that hides behind each mask and is staying positive in the meantime.
The Two Cities Marathon
In an announcement on June 1, The Two Cities Marathon that trails from Woodward Park to Old Town Clovis, canceled. The race was set to be on November 1, where 4,000 runners would have participated.
“Running is still there. Running has not been canceled,” says Aaron Samansky, owner
of Two Cities Marathon and the Fleet Feet store located on Friant and Fort Washington.
Samansky said he decided to cancel the event early because he wanted to avoid the city shutting the event down before runners got excited days before the event. He said all participants could get a refund, donate what they paid for the event, or defer until the following year. This year, however, the Two Cities Marathon was planning to utilize the Clovis trails.
“There are a lot of people out walking and running,” says Samansky looking on the positive side.
When Covid-19 first hit, Samansky said he saw new faces come into his store looking for gear to start running. Even though the event’s cancellation is hindering his business, he is in it for the long haul.
Elks Banquet Hall
Unfortunately, the Elks Banquet Hall, located on Woodworth and Bullard in Old Town Clovis, had to cancel 12 events.
“We do ‘End of Life’ celebrations and rent our hall out, and we can’t do any of that,” says Fran Musetti, Elks Banquet Hall Secretary.
The Elks Banquet Hall, booked every weekend, is now empty. To get by, they have been selling Friday night dinners, drive-through style to offset their bills. They post on their Facebook on the dinner they will be serving that week, including Ribs or smokey tri-tip.
“We did a firework booth this year and sold out the first time…what I liked about it goes back to the grassroots, that the neighborhood had events going on, people gathered in the city blocks,” says Musetti.
The Elks Banquet Hall just got approved by the city to host a parking lot event in September; this will be the first event they have booked since the beginning of the year. If it goes great, by the standard of social distancing, they could get back to business.
One of the city’s largest annual events, Clovis Fest and Hot Air Balloon Fun Fly, have not been confirmed to be canceled. This 12-city block event is set to be on October 24-25 weekend.
The city is advised not to get their hopes up about the event. Until the government officials lift the shutdown, there will be no social gatherings anytime soon.