Spreckels 4th of July celebration canceled
SPRECKELS, Calif. (KION) - The copious number of events canceled on the central coast. Many are asking what’s going on.
In the last week, there have been 3 long-standing annual events cancelled this year.
The Artichoke Festival, the Salinas Valley Food and Wine Festival, and now, the Spreckels 4th of July Celebration.
"It's upsetting that they're canceling Events like that because it's part of the community, you know. It gets people to come together and celebrate," said Emily Lopez, who lives in Spreckels.
"We have this small town. Feel over here and the 4th of July has been going on since, you know, I'm 50 years old and it's since I was a kid," said Joseph Velasquez, Facility Manager for Spreckels Veterans Memorial District.
"This is one of the most beautiful communities we have, you know, that, uh, they get together as a community," said Gretchen Tadman, who lives in Monterey County.
Heartbreaking reactions from the Spreckels community tonight following the announcement of the cancellation of the Spreckels 4th of July celebrations.
Many are recalling the memorable times in the past.
"They have music down there in a celebration. Uh… They don't have any fireworks, but it works and everyone's happy and doing it together as a community," said Tadman.
"It was super fun, they have live music. And they also have like food and stuff," said Lopez.
"Basically, it's time, money, and volunteers, you know, it always boils down to that. There is an issue with some of the permits," said Velasquez.
A post from the Spreckels Veterans Memorial District cites the challenges with Monterey County's permitting process.
"The district has suffered increasing losses from year to year and encountered numerous issues with the Monterey County permitting process and requirements. The increase in the fee schedules and required permits, along with additional various county agency requirements and restrictions, have made the event unattainable for many vendors and non-profit organizations that used to fundraise at this event. "
"I think it's really highlighting. Some of the discrepancies of from the permits and, and stopping these types of events from happening," said Velasquez.
I reached out to the County of Monterey regarding the permitting process.
Nick Pasculli, Spokesperson for the County of Monterey, responded, saying:
“There have been no changes in the County of Monterey’s permitting process per our Housing and Community Development Department. The County has not received an application for the 4th of July event yet. The County has issued permits for the 4th of July event consistently for several years and has also waived fees in the past.”
