By Lookout Staff

June 17, 2021 -- Santa Monica College (SMC) announced Thursday that it has canceled the city's Independence Day celebration and fireworks display for a second year in a row.

College officials said Celebrate America 2021 was canceled due to "planning logistics and lingering safety concerns regarding large-scale, in-person events during the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic."

"In addition to COVID-19 concerns, we also have no direction on how to check spectators or participants for vaccination status,” said Linda Sullivan, Associate Dean of Facilities Programming.

“While ‘Celebrate America’ is not possible this year, we at SMC look forward to future occasions where we can once again interact safely with our community,” Sullivan said.

Hosting the free, unticketed event, she added, requires "substantial staff preparation and participation by many SMC departments, including Campus Police and Facilities Maintenance and Operations."

The popular community picnic and fireworks spectacular has drawn thousands of residents to Corsair Field every year since the college began hosting Santa Monica's official fireworks display in 1993.

Last year, SMC announced it would cancel what would have been the school's 28th Annual “Celebrate America” event due to the budding coronavirus pandemic.

As previously announced, SMC’s classes and student support services will remain mostly online throughout Summer 2021, college officials said.

SMC continues to present free cultural and educational events online, and free to the public.