The yearly celebration, which takes place over the Fourth of July, will still feature favorites like the Chautauqua Days parade, a car show, a farmers market, a fireworks show and more. However, to facilitate social distancing guidelines, some changes have had to be made, said Haley Davis, executive director of Sac City Chamber/Main Street.

“A big difference they’re going to see is the extended parade route on Saturday,” Davis said. “We’ll take the parade all the way around town rather than just down the main street to encourage people to distance.”

Parade entries are being asked to not hand out any candy or other items during the parade.

“That’s something you typically see at a parade that we won’t be seeing this year, but we’re excited to see faces in the parade,” Davis said.

-Submitted photo
The Sac City Chautauqua Days car show will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 4, at the Sac County Courthouse. The cars will be spaced out to give greater distance between visitors.

Celebrants of Chautauqua Days usually enjoy an omelet breakfast on the Sunday of the celebrations, but that has been canceled for this year, Davis said.

A sand volleyball tournament and pickleball tournament will start at 8 a.m. on June 27 at South Park.

“We have volunteers slotted to be disinfecting equipment in between matches and asking players before they play to sanitize their hands,” Davis said.

She said organizers will also be mindful of where spectators seat themselves, encouraging them to distance from other spectators.

Participants can register for the sand volleyball or pickleball tournaments by calling Lance Wilhelm at 515-520-0257.

-Submitted photo
The Sac City Chautauqua Days sand volleyball tournament will kick off at 8 a.m. on Saturday, June 27, at South Park.

On July 3, there will be a “Scoop the Loop” along Main Street from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The majority of the Chautauqua Days activities are scheduled for July 4.

A color run will kick-off at the Sac County Fairgrounds at 8 a.m.

A farmers market will fill Monument Square starting at 9 a.m., and a car show will start at 9 a.m. at the Sac County Courthouse parking lot.

“We’re going to make sure cars are distanced apart, and the same with vendors at the farmers market,” Davis explained. “And they all have cleaning solutions too so they can properly sanitize between meeting with customers.”

The Sac City Museum will be open from noon to 4 p.m. Davis said the museum staff will be limiting the number of people inside the museum, but most of the exhibits are outdoors. Staff will be directing visitors through a single-direction path to help limit visitor contact with other visitors.

The Chautauqua Days Parade will start at 4 p.m. and fireworks will blast off starting at 10 p.m. at East Sac Elementary School.

Davis said that with the COVID-19 pandemic over the past several months, Sac City Chamber/Main Street was trying to find a way to provide the “normalcy” of the summer Chautauqua Days celebration while also being aware of the environment right now.

“There have been moments where you just want something to look forward to,” she said. “We did want to make sure that we could provide something, but first and foremost our priority has always been the safety, health and well-being of our community members.”