BOSTON — The Maine International Film Festival will be held at a drive-in theater; crowds packed some Massachusetts beaches amid summerlike temperatures; and Vermont’s largest annual event has been canceled for the first time.
Details on those and other coronavirus-related developments across New England:
CONNECTICUT
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford says it’s making plans to start holding public Masses again.
Leaders of the archdiocese, which includes parishes in Hartford, Litchfield and New Haven counties, said Saturday on Facebook that they plan to resume public Masses on weekdays first before resuming Sunday masses — “while following public health guidelines.”
Guidance for parishes will become public next week, the archdiocese says.
MAINE
The Maine International Film Festival will take place this year at a drive-in theater in Skowhegan instead of the Waterville Opera House and Railroad Square Cinema, to allow viewers to keep their distance.
“It seemed like a really awesome opportunity to deliver the program safely but also in a really cool and unique way,” Mike Perreault, executive director of the festival and the Maine Film Center, told The Morning Sentinel.
The Skowhegan Drive-In Movie Theatre can cater to about 350 cars, owner Don Brown said.
The festival will begin July 7.
MASSACHUSETTS
Crowds packed some Boston beaches amid summerlike temperatures Friday as officials warned residents to remain vigilant in the fight against the coronavirus.
Large crowds appeared on Carson Beach and M Street Beach in South Boston ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, even though beaches don’t officially open for swimming and sunbathing until Monday, NBC Boston reported.
If people go to the beach, officials say, they should wear a mask if they can’t be 6 feet from others, but it’s not necessary while swimming. Gatherings must be of 10 or fewer people, and 12 feet should separate groups, state guidelines say.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Restrictions remain in place at campgrounds and state parks, but workers say they’re still readying for a busy weekend.
Only New Hampshire residents are allowed at state parks, which are operating at half capacity. Monadnock State Park is booked through Sunday, and others have limited capacity, WMUR-TV reported. The five state campgrounds taking reservations are also booked this weekend.
Areas like playgrounds and recreational halls on campgrounds remain closed.
“We’re asking people to stay outside, pretty much stay on your sites, walk around the campground a little bit, but keep the social distancing in mind,” said Robert Charest, owner of the private Friendly Beaver Campground.
RHODE ISLAND
East Providence is going forward with its Memorial Day parade this year, but it will look a little different.
Monday’s parade at 10 a.m. will consist only of people in vehicles, and planners are urging participants to stay in their cars throughout.
The motorcade is planning rifle-volley salutes at war memorials across the city, The Providence Journal reported.
VERMONT
The Champlain Valley Fair — Vermont’s largest annual event — has been canceled for the first time in its nearly 100-year history.
The event draws about 120,000 people every year and was supposed to start Aug. 28 in Essex Junction, but it has been scrapped because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This would have been its 99th year.
The state is “just not ready for large, unstructured events with hundreds if not thousands of people coming into one area without control and the ability to physically separate,” Gov. Phil Scott said Friday.
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