Denver Event Organizers Planning For Multiple Scenarios In 2021

DENVER (CBS4) - Organizations adjusted their events in 2020 because of COVID-19 by either cancelling their plans or finding a remote experience to replace some of the traditions that happen year after year. As the vaccine for the coronavirus begins distribution across the country including Colorado, some groups are announcing events for 2021 that could look closer to what people remember before the pandemic.

"There's a lot of people who come out to support us," said Ellen Penrod, the executive director of the American Lung Association in Colorado. "It's a really fun event and so we knew we had to move it outdoors and we needed to do something that was safer for all of our participants and still give them that experience of doing a stair climb."

The 2020 Fight For Air Climb happened on March 1 just before the pandemic shutdown the state and forced so many events to cancel. Penrod said they knew they would need to plan for a different climb in 2021.

They've also pushed the event back to May. The organization asked Coors Field to host so they could take advantage of the open space, and they will ask people to climb in waves 10 seconds apart.

"We will be socially distanced, but yet we will be safely together," she said on a video conference call Tuesday. "You still get that experience of doing something together as a team that really actually impacts what's happening in today's world."

Masks will be required and gloves will be encouraged, participants will enter one way and exit another going up and down stairs in the lower bowl of the baseball stadium. Previously, they met at One Republic Plaza in downtown to go up 54 flights of stairs and 1,098 steps.

"You don't have to touch anybody or anything on the day of the event if you don't want to," Penrod said.

The organization says they will encourage the public to take the COVID-19 vaccine with the hope that its distribution and use will help to keep participants safe at the event. The ALA is also funding two grants to help with ongoing research of the coronavirus on the long-term effect of respiratory health.

The study speaks to the unknown impact for the virus beyond next year, which includes if the vaccine will be needed annually.

"In terms of what Denver Pride looks like in 2021, it's really up to our community to make sure for that to happen," said Joe Foster, the vice president of development and communication for The Center on Colfax.

The LGBTQ group announced this week it will move PrideFest to a new weekend in June so it does not overlap with Father's Day and the Juneteenth Celebration. They hope to have an outdoor event in the new year that makes up for the experience people missed with a virtual pride in 2020.

"We have the gift of time where we can plan Denver Pride in either a virtual scenario or an in-person scenario," he told CBS4 on Tuesday. "There will be a Pride regardless if it's a virtual, or in-person, or a combination of the two, we are looking at that to."

While The Center is taking into consideration the rollout of the vaccine, it cannot make plans with the assumption enough people will have it by June. Planning Pride weekend takes a year and they hope the extra notice for 2021 will help them accommodate any restrictions from the pandemic. They are working on logistics this month as well as reaching out to entertainers and sponsors about programming for next year.

"It's kind of telling people you're going to get the Pride we deserve at this point, if you're able to follow those basic guidelines and flatten the curve," Foster said. "The main thing we were missing was that personal connection, a lot of people in our community already feel isolated because they may not have family to turn to, or they may be in area in Colorado where they don't have any friends or people close to them."

Foster says people are craving the personal connection you only get from seeing other members of the LGBTQ community together. The Center will be advocating for people to follow the guidelines of wearing masks and socially distancing, including avoiding large gatherings now so they can reconnect in person next June.

The ALA in Colorado also wants to encourage best practices and provide resources to educate the public more on the vaccine with its own tracking feature on their website. Both groups admit there will need flexibility on the part of organizers and participants as Colorado enters a second year of the pandemic.

"We don't want to put anybody in danger if things should change, we will make adjustments," Penrod said.