The Clinton County/Albany Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its annual 4th of July Fireworks show this year despite the current shape of the country with the pandemic.

This year’s show will be held on Saturday, July 4, 2020, at the Mountain View Roadside Park around dark.

This year’s event will not have any other planned events to go along with the fireworks due to keeping people at a safe distance apart in order to abide by health department guidelines.

In past years, it has always been the hope for planning an entire day filled with multiple events to lead up to the fireworks show later that night, but due to the COVID-19 virus, those plans will have to be put off for another year.

Last year, Chamber of Commerce President Lisa Beard was hoping to add some of those events into this year’s celebration.

“With everything that is going on we couldn’t add any of those events this year,” Beard said.

This year’s event will have guidelines to go by as ordered by Governor Andy Beshear, which will include the six-feet apart rule as well as wearing masks when in public.

No new measures will be in place for the fireworks show, but the standard public protocols will be in place, which will keep people safe during this holiday season.

“I think there will be some new guidelines come out by July 1, but as of right now, we ask that everyone stay a safe distance away from other people and if you get out of your vehicle don’t get too far away from it.”

The fireworks show can be seen throughout various places in town, however, locations closest to the park are usually the best vantage point to watch the show.

Beard said the Chamber has a company that supplies the fireworks and helps with the set up and helps during the show as well.

“Board member Rick Mercader is in charge of that and he always does a great job heading that up,” Beard said. “He has been in contact with the local fire department and they will be on site that night as well.”

Clinton County has been putting on a fireworks show for some time now, however, there was a time when Clinton County didn’t sponsor such a show and people had to go out of town to view a major display of fireworks on the 4th of July.

“We think, especially now, it will be a good time for people to get together and enjoy something we, as a county, can provide,” Beard said. “We want to be able to put a smile on people’s faces.”

Over the years, a lot of planning has gone into hosting the event including securing enough sponsorships to host the event.

This year’s sponsors include, the City of Albany, Industrial Development Authority, Albany/Clinton County Chamber of Commerce, and Clinton County Tourism Commission,

“It’s a collective effort from everybody and that’s what it takes,” Beard said. “We have the exact same show going on this year that we had last year. We are planning to start around dark, so I would figure around 8:30 or so.”

Beard said there was a little talk about canceling the event this year, but the deeper they looked into it, the Chamber of Commerce didn’t see why the show couldn’t go on.

“We looked at all the guidelines and we really didn’t see a reason to cancel the show,” Beard said. “We just ask that everyone be safe and follow the guidelines that are put in place by the health department.”

As much as society has changed in the past few months, a little normal will be a welcome change.

“We hope everyone will go out and get ice cream afterwards and visit our restaurants,” Beard said. “I think everyone is looking forward to this event this year more than ever.”

With the event being held at the Mountain View Park, there are plenty of vantage points to view the show including the 127 By-pass, Albany/Clinton County Wellness Center parking lot as well as other places close to the park.

WANY will also be broadcasting music to go along with the show for spectators to tune in for an added element during this year’s event. WANY broadcasts on 100.9 FM.