Events & Gatherings

Events and gatherings are high risk activities at this time. Anyone considering participation in a gathering with individuals outside their immediate household should take additional precautions to keep themselves and their family safe. This includes wearing a mask over your nose and mouth at all times when not eating or drinking, regularly washing your hands and maintaining a social distance of at least 6 feet at all times. 

Event and Gathering Approval

On October 2, Jackson County announced new orders with updated protocols for events and gatherings. Any event with more than 100 attendees is required to fill out this Gathering Protocol form to verify proper precautions are being taken to keep all participants, volunteers, guests or staff safe. This Gathering Protocol must be submitted at least 72 hours before the event or gathering is scheduled to occur. If you would like to fill out a PDF of this form, you can find it here.

Gathering Protocol online form 

Gathering Protocol fillable PDF form

For more information on the current order and phase from Jackson County, click here. 

Events that may meet criteria for Gathering Protocol requirements include:

• Sporting events
• Weddings
• Funerals
• Church services
• Luncheons or meetings

If you have questions about your event and if it qualifies for this type of approval in Independence, please email covid19@indepmo.org. 

Safer gathering tips

Looking for safer ways to get together with family and friends? Here are a few tips to help make these gatherings safer: 

• Consider meeting in a park, a backyard or the driveway where there is plenty of fresh air.
• Choose a location with plenty of room, so households can easily stay 6 feet apart.
• Have everyone bring their own meal and utensils.
• Wear masks when not eating or drinking.
• And, avoid handshakes or hugs, instead using words to let them know how much you care.

Spanish translation available here.

A safer Halloween

In mid-September the CDC issued guidance regarding Halloween and trick-or-treating. While traditional trick-or-treating is considered a high-risk activity due to the many interactions that might occur with individuals not from the same household, they did provide a few suggestions on how to decrease risks. Here are some of their suggestions and guidance:

• Carve or decorate pumpkins with family members.
• Decorate your home or living space.
• Hold a neighborhood scavenger hunt spotlighting decorations or landmarks.
• Have a virtual Halloween costume contest.
• Participate in one-way trick-or-treating where individually wrapped goodie bags are lined of for families to grab away from the front of your home.
• Have a neighborhood costume parade outdoors and socially distanced.
• Halloween masks do not meet most mask guidelines. Please wear a cloth mask or face covering that adequately covers your nose and mouth.

You can find a full list of suggestions from the CDC here, bit.ly/cdchalloween.

If you are planning a Halloween event, here are some guidelines from the City of Independence: Please verify if your event needs permits, road closures or inspections through our Special Events application. You can find details at indep.us/specialevents.

For those organizations wishing to hold a Halloween event these are the guidelines from the City of Independence:

1. The event must follow current gathering guidelines as determined by the Jackson County phase criteria.
2. If the event involves vehicles (such as trunk-or-treat), vehicles must have at least 6 feet of space between opened doors.
3. If games are included in the event, they should be single use items or items that can be thoroughly sanitized between each participant.
4. Snacks, treats, or candy should be single serve with an individual wearing a mask and gloves handing it out to participants.
5. Drive-thru events are preferred.
6. All participants should wear a face covering or mask as outlined by the Jackson County order. This does not include costume masks.
7. No homemade goods or snacks should be provided.
8. Event organizers should maintain a list of volunteers for a minimum of 14 days after the event in case an outbreak is connected to the activity.

And finally, the Independence Police Department would like to remind everyone to wear reflective clothing or a reflective item if trick-or-treating to alert drivers in the area after dark. Look for families and children cross the street and decrease your speed in residential areas. Do not eat items that look as though they may have been tampered with and report any suspicious activity as soon as possible.

These guidelines may change as the situation changes at the local, state and federal levels. Please follow the City on Facebook, Twitter and Nextdoor for updates.

The holiday will not look the same this year but together, we can keep everyone safe and healthy.

Spanish translation of these tips available here.