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Beaufort County proved over the weekend that it knows how to throw a party. Summer Festival 2021 was a smash hit and it was well worth the wait.

Hats off to Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Catherine Glover, Assistant Director Robin McKeithan and Memberships and Marketing Director Elizabeth Bennett and the rest of their team for putting on a great show.

The annual event has been in early June for a number of years, but COVID-19 concerns pushed it back to mid-August. Everyone knew it would be hot and they were right, but better hot than stuck inside for another weekend with nothing to do.

Crowds of people packed the midway along Water St. as the familiar scent of funnel cake, the sizzle as the chicken and shrimp hitting the grill and the youngster’s squeals of delight competed for their attention.

The Castaways took us on a three-hour Beach music tour Friday night, Washington native Diedra Ruff and her band brought the heat from the Chamber of Commerce porch with two hours of old school rhythm and blues with original songs mixed in. When was the last time you saw a man play the guitar with his teeth in person? It was a first for some of us.

The Monterio Experience from Greenville closed the show Saturday night in Mac Hodges Festival Park with almost three hours of every kind of music you could name from hip-hop to rock to pop with a little country sprinkled in.

There were rides for the kids and plenty of food selections for everyone.

People were dancing, smiling and having fun as a sense of normalcy prevailed.

The fireworks were spectacular as well and made us realize how long it had been since we had seen them explode over the water. Oohs and aahs were plentiful during the 20-minute burst of color and sound.

It was a welcome, happy break from the cold reality of COVID-19, which is still with us.

So, while some parts of life are normal, others are not. Masks have returned to schools along with the students. Football schedules have been disrupted and a return to virtual learning is not out of the question if cases continue to rise.

We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again. Getting vaccinated is the most effective way to defeat the Delta variant. Yes, you can get COVID if you are vaccinated. However, if more people had the shot, the variant would have nowhere to spread.

Let’s make good decisions and take the proper precautions to stop the spread.

Think about how much fun you had at Summer Festival while you roll up your sleeve.