We just can’t have another summer like 2020.

Fairs were canceled. Scheduled concerts were postponed. Festivals crippled nonprofits which depend on them for funds. Businesses were closed, including movie theaters, which meant we were relegated to a menu of TV reruns for some of our entertainment.

It looks like this coming summer will be much, much better.

Heading into the summer season, we have Memorial Day activities which look like many will be back to some sort of normalcy.

The Summit Hill Memorial Day parade, which has become the largest such parade in Carbon County in the past couple of decades, will be held. Last year, even events honoring America’s veterans and their sacrifices were put on the back burner because of COVID-19 precautions.

The website for the Carbon County Fair indicates there are plans for the exposition. It will be held Aug. 9-14 and scheduled are free concerts, a lumberjack type of event, demo derbies and, of course, the usual fair fare. Finally, local bands like The Cramer Brothers and The Rehrigs will be allowed to perform in front of audiences.

The Schuylkill County Fair is planned for Aug. 2-7. Although no grandstand shows have been announced on the fair’s website, it’s promising that the dates are at least mentioned.

The Allentown Fair has already announced concerts by Carrie Underwood and Toby Keith, two huge names in country music. Both concerts were planned for a year ago.

Aug. 22-28 is when the West End Fair in Gilbert is tentatively planned.

Musikfest in Bethlehem will have its annual shindig.

Even concert venues like Penn’s Peak has some big shows scheduled for summer with many more coming in the fall.

The key to keeping such optimism is for people to get vaccinated and use caution. While political leaders have indicated they’ll do all they can to avoid another total shutdown, they won’t hesitate to put restrictions on such things as concerts and sporting events.

It looks, now, like when summer arrives, larger crowds will be able to see the Phillies, the IronPigs and even local baseball games.

The opening of such events doesn’t mean the pandemic is over. There are still cases of the coronavirus popping up throughout the country, including all our local communities. People are still dying from it.

Common sense will go a long way in not only letting us enjoy swimming pools, concert halls and movie theaters, but it also will keep us safe.

We’ve come a long way from a year ago. Let’s not be foolish about our renewed freedoms.