Date Posted: November 25, 2020
Category: News
Our 28th Annual Holiday Lighting ceremony will be “virtual” in light of escalating COVID-19 cases in Rhode Island. Nibbles Woodaway will be lit to celebrate the Holidays, but no public event will be held in recognition of the need to avoid public gatherings at this time.
Reflecting on the large number of COVID-19 cases occurring in Rhode Island, the 28th Holiday lighting of the Big Blue Bug will take place virtually this year. With no public ceremony intended to recognize the need to limit public exposure at this time, Nibbles Woodaway will be lit in traditional Holiday lights. However, his signature red nose that has appeared in each of the 27 previous lightings will be dark in 2020 and tucked safely under his mask, in silent recognition of the importance of proper mask wearing during this pandemic.
While no formal ceremony will be held, Big Blue Bug Solutions is dedicating the 2020 Holiday lighting to the Rhode Island Department of Health and frontline medical workers throughout Rhode Island whose heroic work has saved lives throughout the pandemic.
Due to demand on social media from Nibbles Woodaway fans, the company will host an online, virtual Holiday lighting of the bug on Tuesday, 1 December 2020 to celebrate the Holiday Season. Details will be released on the company’s social media channels.
“In this year, in which the pandemic has framed so much of our lives and our public discussion, we felt we could make a bigger statement by eliminating a public ceremony that has marked our Holiday lighting for more than quarter century”, said Brian Goldman, CEO of Big Blue Bug Solutions. “We feel it is important to demonstrate leadership and support the efforts of Governor Raimondo and the extraordinary leadership of the Rhode Island Department of Health under Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott to minimize public gatherings and limit the potential exposure at this time.”
“Nibbles has been doing his part by advocating the importance of mask wearing since the early days of the pandemic, underscoring our support of the Department of Health’s recommendations. We are pleased to honor, even if from a distance, the work of Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott and the hundreds of RIDOH employees – as well as frontline medical personnel all over Rhode Island – who have worked so tirelessly to keep Rhode Island as safe as possible. The decision to cancel our annual in-person event is a tribute to their work and the importance of public safety as we continue to battle COVID-19 together.”
