Chamber Of Commerce Announces Cancellation Of Gala, Fourth Of July Event; Postponement Of Concerts

The Ste. Genevieve Chamber of Commerce last week announced cancellations and schedule changes related to precautions for the coronavirus pandemic.
With social distancing and prohibitions on large public gatherings, the chamber already had delayed its annual Gala, where it presents various awards to local businesses and community leaders.
Last week, in the chamber’s newsletter, director Dena Kreitler said the Gala was canceled for this year.
“We tried to find another date that worked for our event,” Kreitler said, “but as with many other organizations and their events, there is only so many dates and venues available.
“We will however, be selecting our 2020 award winners and notifying them, and inviting them to our 2021 Gala to receive their honor.”
The chamber’s portion of the annual Fourth of July celebration also was canceled. The chamber had presented the mid-day patriotic ceremony in downtown Ste. Genevieve in recent years.
The Fourth of July fireworks show, sponsored by an independent fireworks committee headed by city of Ste. Genevieve field operations supervisor Gary Roth, was canceled earlier this spring.
“Due to the COVID-19 virus, the annual Patriotic Fourth of July gathering will not be held this year,” a news release from the chamber stated. “Instead, church bells will be rung at 12 noon in honor of the founding event of the United States of America. We ask that you use these few minutes to reflect on the importance of the Declaration of Independence on our great nation. We also ask that you give thanks to those that penned ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’
“We also ask that you remember not only those 58 individuals who pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor by signing the Declaration but also the thousands and thousands of American citizens who died protecting these freedoms and our country.”
The chamber’s Summer Music Series has now rescheduled three of its four June concerts for August, with one band unable to reschedule.
The series of Friday night concerts at the Orris Theatre now is scheduled to begin July 10 with Silver Bullet, a tribute to Bob Seger.

Tim Campbell’s Alan Jackson tribute concert was postponed from June to August.

The rescheduled concerts are: Big Love, a tribute to Fleetwood Mac, on August 7; Chattahoochie, a tribute to Alan Jackson, on August 14; and Big Rain on August 28.
Tickets are $20 per person to each show.
For information, call 573-883-3686 or visit www.stegenchamber.org.
(Information in a news release from the Ste. Genevieve Chamber of Commerce and the chamber newsletter.)