Even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Abbeville County residents found ways to celebrate the Fourth of July.
A number of residents celebrated the Fourth of July Saturday with a boat parade at Lake Secession, and abundant fireworks from the Lake Secession dam.
The Friends of Lake Secession presented both events, and on Facebook, one could see photos from the boat parade.
"A big shout out to all our participants and those who cheered us on," the Friends said in a Facebook post after the parade.
The participants gathered at the boat ramp near the northern tip of the lake shortly after midday on Saturday.
Seventeen boats took part in the parade, and top honors went to the Harris boat featuring "COVID grads."
Second place went to the Sherard boat with a "Freedom, Fireworks, Fun" theme, and in third place was the Gordon boat with the theme "Life is Cooler."
The prevailing sentiment was to have fun, it seemed, with boats inhabited by everyone from a "Statue of Liberty" to "patriotic patriots" to "mail in voters."
The boat parade provided the kicker to an Independence Day twosome at the lake. On the evening of Thursday, July 2, fireworks were scheduled at the Lake Secession dam.
Like the boat parade, the fireworks are a Fourth of July tradition at the lake.
Meanwhile, the pandemic made its presence felt in other ways.
The Lake Russell Recreation and Tourism Coalition has, for a number of years, presented Freedom Blast at the Blue Hole recreation area in Calhoun Falls just before the Fourth of July. This year, however, the gathering, which typically features food, live music, a water slide for the kids and considerable quantities of fun, was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.