From left, Dr. Matthew Songer and Evangelist speaker Josh Brewer, CEO of LifeLight are shown. Songer is working with LifeLight to organize U.P. City Fest. The Ishpeming City Council recently voted unanimously to permit U.P. City Fest, a religious festival with up to 500 people. Brewer previously told the Journal that the goal of the event is to have all denominations of churches come together and celebrate each other's differences. (Journal file photo)

ISHPEMING — Masks, safety and events sparked several conversations during the Wednesday Ishpeming City Council meeting.

But the panel ultimately voted unanimously to permit U.P. City Fest — a religious festival with up to 500 people — to take place at the Al Quaal Recreation Area on Aug. 15.

The event is organized by Lifelight Communications Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that offers free festivals and events to spread a Gospel message.

It had previously approached the Marquette City Commission in an attempt to use the Mattson Lower Harbor Park for the festival. Then it asked the Marquette Township Board for permission to use the Westwood Mall parking lot.

However, each attempt was either denied or abandoned, as municipal officials in those locations cited concerns regarding COVID-19 and/or crowd control.

The event will include musical performances, public speakers, BMX and performances. It will also involve Zero Gravity Outreach, which is described on its website as “turn-key extreme X-games level sports evangelistic performances,” including freestyle motocross complete with take-off ramps and landings.

Dr. Matthew Songer, an orthopedic surgeon from Marquette who is associated with the event, attended the Ishpeming council meeting Wednesday to answer questions about the event, which he said will follow strict protocols set forth in a safety plan.

“I wanted to do this scientifically. If I can’t keep it healthy as a physician, who else is going to be able to do that?” Songer said.

He said everyone in attendance will need to register before the event and agree to adhere to safety guidelines, including touchless temperature checks upon entry, maintaining a 6-foot social distance from individuals who are not from the same household, and wearing a mask when 6-foot separation is not possible.

He said fences and other security measures will be used to ensure people who are not registered do not gain entry to the event.

“It’s outside, so it’s 100 times safer than it would be (indoors),” Songer said. “…They have to sign and agree to wear a mask before they register. And there is going to be signage. We are also mapping the control of traffic … We are going to mark it with chalk so people are going to know where to go and then they are going to stay there.”

He added the protocols are more stringent than the requirements under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive orders for public gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We want to establish methodology. Already, other people have taken my plan and adopted and used it,” Songer said. “I know as a physician that the COVID virus is staying and it is not going away. It’s not going to go away and we have to learn to adapt and learn to cope with it; it’s important.”

In addition to the U.P. City Fest request, the council unanimously approved a Thursday Night Summer Concert Series that has been held at the Old Ish statue on Main Street since July 16.

The series will continue to run throughout this month on Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and a Lake Bancroft Art and Craft Fair on Sept. 19 and 20 in the parking area in front of the Cliffs Shaft Museum along Euclid Street.

Drawing a contrast between the approval of the series and the U.P. City Fest, Ishpeming City Manager Craig Cugini called the U.P. City Fest event a “one and done” opportunity.

“I want to make sure that you are thinking about that in choices that you make. From my perspective, this is one of the most well-thought-out, intelligent plans,” Cugini said. “You just approved to continue allowing the concerts that we have at Old Ish and there are no restrictions, no plan for us to ask them how they are spacing people out.”

Ishpeming City Councilor Jason Chapman asked how the use of masks and social distancing would be enforced during the City Fest event.

Cugini said Ishpeming Police Chief Steve Snowaert was part of a city staff discussion before the event request was brought to the council, noting law enforcement would be involved in ensuring people observed mask and social distancing rules.

“(If a person was not respecting these rules) that person would be asked to leave by security and then the police would respond,” Cugini said. “If they walk away and leave, there is no action to take… if they escalate and don’t walk away and leave, then the police would charge them with trespass… But it would not be COVID-related. It would be — they have been asked to leave, they are not leaving, (so) they are trespassing.”

Councilor Pat Scanlon, who made the motion to approve the event, agreed with the assertion that communities need to adapt to the virus.

“Dr. Songer made an excellent point, that this is not going away. We need to learn to live with it,” Scanlon said. “… I think that the mindset in our community would want me to move this forward. This group is well planned and sounds like it is going to be well executed. If we have something, this is our opportunity.”

Songer said the basic reason for the event is to offer a safe, enjoyable outing to the residents of Marquette County after months of dealing with COVID-19 restrictions.

“In my practice, what I see with this is tremendous anxiety, depression and fear like I have never seen before,” Songer said. “And we wanted to have a fun event. We wanted to have a message of hope.”

Lisa Bowers can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 242. Her email address is lbowers@miningjournal.net.