Mount Holly cancels July 4 celebration following ‘alarming violence’ at recent Burlington County events

Citing increased safety concerns, a Burlington County township has officially canceled this year’s annual Independence Day Celebration.

Mount Holly Township officials released a statement on June 15 announcing the decision to cancel the township’s Fourth of July festivities, pointing to recent violence at other local events across the region and a lack of time to put enhanced security measures in place.

“This decision was not made lightly — over the past few months, we have been meticulously monitoring local and regional events throughout New Jersey, assessing which events have been canceled due to alarming violence, as well as those communities’ that have continued their events with significantly increased security measures and protocol put into place,” the township said in a joint statement with the Mount Holly Police Department.

In early May, a Maple Shade carnival held to fundraise for a local youth football program was canceled after a large group of teenagers caused a hectic scene on the first night. By the end of the month, the Roebling Carnival was similarly canceled after numerous fights broke out on the first night of the Florence Township event, overwhelming police.

Officials in Medford took note of the events in Maple Shade ahead of their six-day Saint Mary of the Lakes Carnival and Music Fest, boosting security with outside agencies, imposing crowd size limits, restricting entrances and more.

“With our spectators and vendors’ safety top of mind, we could not enact a viable, actionable solution in such a short period of time to alleviate our security concerns without incurring additional, significant costs to the Township and our residents,” Mount Holly officials said.

“We understand the disappointment this decision may cause and extend our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all who have supported this event over the years.”