Monson Forced To Cancel July 4th Events After Devastating June Tornado
MONSON, Mass. (AP) -- An annual Independence Day tradition in Monson has been canceled after a tornado devastated the town last month.
Steve Slozak, chairman of the Summerfest event, said there was a lot of sadness when he announced the event couldn't happen this year. But he told The Boston Globe that while people were hoping Summerfest would pull the community together, the tornado has already done that.
Summerfest began in 1979 and can draw nearly double the town's population of 8,500. It features events such as a frog-jumping competition, a soap box derby and a parade.
Slozak said several organizing committee workers lost their homes to the tornadoes, traffic patterns were a mess, and it didn't seem right to ask the overworked police and fire departments to set up for the event.
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