GREENDALE — While coronavirus concerns have forced many communities to cancel their Fourth of July fireworks shows, Greendale decided to go forth with its show with some precautions.
Officials posted on Facebook earlier in the week in an effort to social distance, that they would announce the show's location an hour before the show was set to start on Saturday. They wrote onsite parking would not be available and encouraged people to watch from their homes if they could.
For most of the day, the show's location remained a mystery as people in town waited for their phones to buzz with an announcement.
In the meantime, families and friends gathered throughout town to celebrate together, eager to watch the show.
"Every year we’re usually going by the village, and all of our family, just talking and hanging out, there’s a parade going on too, now there’s nothing," said Hailey Popp.
"We have a great community great neighborhood here who’s kind of been through this whole thing and so it’s kind of cool to celebrate that," said Michelle Pink.
Crews set up a decoy truck in a nearby park to distract any crowds.
At 8:30 p.m. the village announced the show would take place at Greendale High School.
Some people immediately went to set up their seats. Anderson Randolph got there first and called his family to come join him.
"I told them to bring the other car so we could have two spots," Randolph said.
For the most part, people in Greendale spread out over lawns and sidewalks around the high school, and some watched in their cars. Not many people wore masks.
As of Saturday, Wisconsin saw a record number of 738 new coronavirus cases across the state.
People in Greendale believed they could both enjoy the show and stay safe.
"I'm a little nervous about it but right now it’s pretty quiet on this side of the park, that side sounds a little more crazy, but it feels safe right now over here," said Shay Groth.
As of Saturday, Greendale has 69 active coronavirus cases, and Milwaukee County as a whole has 12,062.
