Labor Day Weekend: Vance County Tourism expects more tourists’ arrival

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

The Labor Day weekend celebrations at Kerr Lake and Littleton in Vance County are on track to take place, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility of fallout from hurricane degraded tropical storm Ida.

The Vance County Tourism Authority will hold its long-delayed fireworks show on Saturday at Satterwhite Point Park on Kerr Lake. The food and music will be featured during the day before the sky is lit up with fireworks in the evening.

Meanwhile, the Littleton-Lake Gaston Festival will take place in downtown Littleton beginning Friday evening and continuing on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Satterwhite Point activities will begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday and continue until 9 p.m., with the fireworks display taking place at about 8:30 p.m. The food vendors will offer a variety of taste treats. A DJ will provide music throughout the day.

With the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus spreading through the state, Vance County Tourism Director Pam Hester said visitors are encouraged to follow safety guidelines.

Hester still advised caution. She said she sees people wearing masks and maintaining social distance routinely and hopes they will continue those practices during the Labor Day celebration.

The festivities in Littleton will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday evening with music, food and entertainment in the town parking lot, according to Town Clerk Ellen Eller.

The festival will continue from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday in downtown Littleton, where food vendors, crafters and organizations will display their wares for visitors to enjoy. The event is sponsored by the Littleton Lions Club.

The annual Kerr Lake Fourth of July celebration sponsored by the Vance County Tourism Authority was rescheduled to Labor Day in 2020, then canceled completely as the COVID-19 virus caused many organizations and locations, including the Kerr Lake State Recreation Area, to shut down or severely restrict access.

This year, after COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed in March, the event was planned to take place as usual during the Independence Day weekend. But in May, because of the ongoing COVID epidemic and the uncertainty of mandated restrictions on mass gatherings, the tourism board decided to move the celebration to Labor Day.

Granville-Vance Public Health Director Lisa Harrison has pointed out that N.C. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines urge people to wear face coverings even at outdoor events, if conditions are crowded and they can’t maintain 6 feet of separation from other people.

Harrison said that the fairs and festivals are outside, and yes, most of the community is taking this seriously enough to be careful around others, but the higher these case numbers get, the more it makes me nervous to see that large festivals in the area will proceed. Proceeding with caution and careful guidance is a must.

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