By Karolyn Gephart
The City of Friendswood has canceled all events in Stevenson Park through the end of 2020.
The cancelled activities are very large events that attract thousands of people to the city, according to city staff.
With social distancing rules and orders from Governor Abbott, City staff had to cancel the following events: Halloween in the Park, KFB-Santa in the Park, and Christmas Lighted Parade.
The City of Friendswood thanks residents and businesses for their patience and continued support during this time.
The holiday events were all favorites as well as fundraisers for groups in 2019.
The Friendswood Chamber of Commerce hosted one of its largest events in 2019, the 20th Annual Halloween in the Park. Thousands of attendees of all ages visited to trick or treat to local businesses for candy. Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, Prince Properties LLC., and UTMB Health sponsored the 2019 event.
The 2019 biggest event of the year for the City of Friendswood was on December 14, the 12th Annual Santa in the Park in Stevenson Park. Hosted by the City and Keep Friendswood Beautiful, the fun filled day was filled with pictures with Santa, 40,000 lbs of snow, amusement rides, face painting, live music, local entertainment, food vendors, a holiday arts and craft market, the Chamber of Commerce lighted parade and the lighting of a 20 foot tall decorated Christmas tree provided by the 2019 title sponsor, HomeTown Bank of Friendswood. The event ended with a state of the art fireworks extravaganza.
Anther large event planned for Stevenson Park this year but cancelled recently is Art in the Park.
The large event is held in November and has grown in attendance and booths/activities each year. Hosted by the Friendswood Fine Arts team, the popular event has artisans, crafts, booths, performances, art in action, presentations, demonstrations, and live entertainment. They also showcase an outstanding artist and their work.
“We have reluctantly accepted that it is not possible for us to continue with plans for the Festival without potential risk to the health and safety of our artists, teams and audiences,” organizer and artist Sara Peters said. “We are currently in discussions for new and socially distant fundraisers that we can explore to continue to bring the arts to Friendswood.”
