The decision to hold or cancel this year’s Newtown Labor Day Parade has not yet been made.

The longstanding tradition could not step off last year, another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. The parade committee announced in early July 2020 that the 59th Annual Newtown Labor Day Parade was canceled.

Nearly a year later, many residents have begun wondering what 2021 will bring, but even those in charge of the celebratory event do not yet know.

Labor Day Parade Committee President Nick Kopcik spoke with The Newtown Bee recently.

He and two members of his committee — Vice President Tom D’Agostino and Parade Coordinator Melissa Kopcik — met with First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, Health Department Director Donna Culbert, and Food Service Inspector Suzette LeBlanc “about a month ago,” Kopcik said May 14.

“We want to be mindful of those who live along the route, as well as those who participate in the parade and those who view it,” he said. “Most people think about the participants and the spectators, but we are very mindful of those along the route. This isn’t like Halloween, with crowds moving between the houses. This is hours of stationary people.”

Kopcik said the recent meeting included discussion of pandemic guidelines that were current at the time of the meeting, along with those expected to be lifted as summer and early autumn return. Continuous cleaning of the 11 porta-potties that are installed each year along the parade route and the buses used to transport participants and attendees to their starting and viewing locations were also discussed, the parade president said.

“You’re supposed to at least use hand sanitizer any time you use a porta-potty. That’s long been a standard,” he said. “But these days, the whole unit needs to be sanitized after each use. Who’s going to do that?

“And the buses, same challenge: Who’s going to keep sanitizing them? We don’t have the manpower for that,” he said.

Kopcik said he and the first selectman have heard from residents sharing opinions for and against holding a 2021 event.

“We know people missed it last year. We missed it too,” Kopcik said. “But it’s also been pointed out that this could potentially be a superspreader event just as schools are about to begin again.

“There is a lot to consider,” he added.

Should a parade happen this year, it will be a smaller scale version than recent years, Kopcik noted.

“We will try to scale it down,” he said. “We want to keep it more local, and smaller. We’ve actually wanted to do that for a few years.”

The committee expects to meet again with local officials before the end of the month, Kopcik said. He hopes to have a formal announcement soon after that.

“We can’t wait until August to plan a parade,” he said.

The Grand Marshal and each year’s parade theme are usually announced by early spring. Sponsors begin planning their funding levels by spring, and regular volunteers and participants often start their work months before Labor Day, as well.

“We’ll decide soon and unfortunately, we know we’re not going to satisfy everyone,” Kopcik said. “It’s a fluid situation and it’s going to stay that way until this pandemic is done.”

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Associate Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.