By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
The Fourth of July fireworks and food trucks event in Ortonville has been canceled. The decision has been made among meetings with the DDA, Friends of AMOS, the Brandon Township Fire Department, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and the Brandon School District to discuss current state and county COVID-19 restrictions.
“While these restrictions loosen and our community continues to take steps toward normal public events, current guidelines do not allow for an event of this size to be held on school district property,” said DDA president Courtney McClerren.  “We will continue to hold conversations with all involved parties and monitor the loosening of restrictions surrounding gathering size, social distancing and mitigation requirements in an effort to keep our options open for possible alternative events/dates in the future.”
Normally, the Friends of AMOS Fourth of July fireworks, which were scheduled for July 3 this year, are launched from the Brandon Middle School parking lot, which is blocked off to allow for a safe zone. The DDA also sponsors a food truck and carnival event at the same time, which takes place in the high school parking lot. This event in the past has drawn thousands of people, and the high school has enough parking to accommodate the event.
“At this point in time, the guidelines have not loosened enough that the school can host an event of this size,” said McClerren.
While that specific food truck event was canceled, there are still two DDA sponsored food truck events planned for the summer, June 17 and Sept. 23, in downtown Ortonville. The Brandon Parks and Recreation department has also moved the June family-friendly movie night at Sherman Park t-ball field to June 17 to coincide with the food truck event that evening.