WE ARE PARKS AND RECREATION Special Events in the Time of COVID-19 By Christine DiGioia
W PHOTO COURTESY OF HOWARD COUNTY RECREATION AND PARKS
hen it comes to planning events, organizers have likely considered almost every scenario possible to be prepared for the unknown. There are plans for natural disasters, accidents, extreme weather, terrorist threats and so much more — but a pandemic? Last year, as the world transitioned from the thought process of “we just need to wait this out” to “this is the new normal,” event planners were faced with the task of how to adapt special events. With only a five-step process, Howard County Recreation and Parks in Maryland was able to modify procedures to successfully develop a new event plan. While the following example shows the measures Howard County Recreation and Parks took for its Fall Festival, called Truck or Treat in Howard County, these tips can
Howard County Recreation and Parks modifies its special events during the pandemic.
TRUCK OR TREAT Event Activities
What Can Run
What Cannot Run What can be adapted
Trucks
✔
No sitting or climbing/touching
Treats/Giveaways/Prizes
✔
Pre-filled treat bags handed out at the end
Face painting/Tattoos
✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
Inflatables Petting Zoo Games Costumes/Picture-taking Vendors Sponsors 2,000 people Indoor/Outdoor
10 Parks & Recreation
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
| M AY 2 02 1 | PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N .O R G
Add more “photo spots” Send giveaways for treat bags Banners/signs only, not on-site 100 kids per hour, longer event Outdoor only
apply toward any major holiday event, including Memorial Day. Truck or Treat is typically a Halloween-themed touch-a-truck experience that features trucks and tractors from the parks department, county highways, police, fire and rescue, park rangers, and even local businesses. Families can trick-ortreat at the trucks; take pictures; and enjoy carnival-type games, inflatable slides, face painting, a hay ride and more. The three-hour event typically hosts more than 2,000 people. If there is inclement weather, the trucks remain outside, and all activities move inside the community center. During the current climate with physical distancing, mask wearing and limited crowds, a few factors needed to be taken into account.
STEP 1: Look up the current local and state guidelines in your county or area. For Howard County Maryland, in Stage III of reopening, inside capacity was limited to 50 percent, masks were required in all situations where you cannot physically distance from others and gatherings were limited to 250 people. STEP 2: How can we adapt to fit the guidelines in the area? These guidelines immediately caused the cancellation of any indoor options for the event, as well as limited the tickets to no more that 250 at a time. (The event space is approximately 85,000 square feet, and also backs up to a park.) The event was adapted by ex-
