The Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce is moving forward in organizing major events for this year, and two of them are coming up soon.
The Viking Half Marathon and 5K will take place March 20, and the Greenwood Gravel Grind will be held April 17. These and others, such as Bikes, Blues & Bayous and the Roy Martin Delta Band Festival and Christmas Parade, are listed on the chamber’s website calendar.
Beth Stevens, the chamber’s executive director, said it is taking a “cautiously optimistic approach” in scheduling. Last year, many of the events were rescheduled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But this year, Stevens said the events are being organized for their regularly scheduled times.
“Hopefully this year, things are back to normal, as far as the event dates go. So we’re happy about that,” Stevens said. “We’re still definitely, especially with these first couple of events, taking some COVID precautions — because, you know, it’s still a real thing. And there are still people out there who are definitely concerned about our protocols, so we’re leaving those protocols in place for now because, I think, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
Those precautions include social distancing and mask-wearing, but as of now, Stevens said the chamber is not capping the number of participants allowed.
She also added that the number of participants registering is mounting, with a combination of both local people and out-of-towners signing up. About 300 riders have registered for Bikes, Blues & Bayous, the state’s largest bike ride, which is scheduled for Aug. 7.
“People are ready to get outdoors,” Stevens said. “I think, No. 1, they feel safe being outside. No. 2, a lot of these people participated in our events last year and know that we can do them and do them safely. So I think they feel good about that.”
Some events — including the Stars and Stripes Festival — are being penciled in without dates. Stevens said she expects the Independence Day celebration to continue.
“We’re still taking a ‘wait and see’ approach on that one,” she said. “If we do have it, it will most likely be — as it’s usually — on the Thursday before the Fourth of July.”
Other events for the year include the Chamber Golf Scramble on May 6, the 300 Oaks Road Race on Sept. 18, AgFest on Nov. 16, the Roy Martin Delta Band Festival and Christmas Parade on Dec. 3 and the Holiday Open House, for which no date has been set yet.
More details on all of the chamber’s events, as well as links to register for the Viking Half Marathon and 5K, the Greenwood Gravel Grind and Bikes, Blues & Bayous, can be found at greenwoodmschamber.com/chamber.
•Contact Adam Bakst at 581-7233 or abakst@gwcommonwealth.com. On Twitter at @AdamBakst_GWCW.
