HARTFORD, Conn. – Thelma Uranga is sprucing up her back deck in Chicago, hoping to host some small gatherings to take the place of the summer’s usual neighborhood festivals built on music, food and time with friends. “People look forward to summer because winter tends to feel like an eternity,” said Uranga, 38. “We were just getting to that point where things kick off.” Instead, she and many others are “mourning summer 2020” as cancellations pile up because of efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
From Cape Cod to California, festivals are being nixed, businesses in tourist havens are looking at empty reservation books, and people who have been cooped up through a dismal spring are worrying summer will bring just more of the same.