Amid Delta worries and masking debates, Philly tries to enjoy a weekend

As the soulful music drifted across the lawn at the Mann Music Center on Saturday afternoon, Deanna Nicosia-Jones said she was happy to have kept her tickets for HoagieNation, the music festival run by Hall and Oates that was canceled at the height of the coronavirus pandemic last year – and returned to Philly this weekend.

“We knew that someday life would be a little bit normal again,” she said with a laugh.

Focus on somewhat. Nicosia-Jones is a fifth-grade teacher in Cumberland County and had spent her morning at a meeting of the New Jersey Education Association chaired by Governor Phil Murphy, who on Friday announced a mask mandate for New Jersey schools. Jersey this fall. She’s as excited as anyone to take advantage of the summer reopens – but with the emergence of the delta variant, the number of cases increasing and vaccines still unavailable for her students, the coronavirus is still at the back of her mind.

“We are satisfied with [Murphy’s] mask mandate for students, ”she said. “My kids are just this age where they can’t get vaccinated. I feel like everyday, like we’re getting there, but I know when we go back to class we’ll have to be ready to pivot.

Like many people in Philadelphia on Saturday, Nicosia-Jones balances the pleasures of a vaccinated summer with worries about the pandemic – and taking precautions to stay safe, that means sticking to outdoor events, taking care of themselves. hide again inside or reconsider travel plans.

Ahead of the Phillies game on Saturday afternoon, Sharon Lynn and Krys Johnson of Fairmount had settled into their lawn chairs with a drink and a plush Phillie Phanatic, being careful to stick to their seats. parking. “We’ve kind of isolated ourselves here, and in the stadium we feel pretty safe,” Lynn said. “But we’re coming back to wearing masks at the grocery store.”

“Outside,” Johnson added, “makes us feel better.”

Justin Russell of Germantown, Md., Attending his first Phillies game with his family, brought masks to wear inside the stadium. He was delighted to see the family he had been separated from during the pandemic, and although everyone had been vaccinated, he said the prospect of a worry-free summer from the coronavirus is receding. It was a feeling shared by others throughout the day.

“I was surprised – I thought the worst was over,” said Raymond Ranelli, a Southwest Philly longshoreman who attended HoagieNation on Saturday. “But absolutely, being vaccinated makes me feel better.”

Still, those who spoke to The Inquirer on Saturday, most of whom said they were vaccinated, said they were trying to savor the summer day. At the “happy hour hoagie tent” at HoagieNation, where local delis were handing out free hoagies, Valerie Stover said she was just happy to be “here enjoying life”.

It’s been a tough year: she was diagnosed with cancer during the pandemic and underwent treatment, including a transplant operation, while running a recovery home for women with drug addiction in Glassboro.

“It has been a very difficult year for a lot of our daughters,” she said. “It’s fun and enjoyable for them to go out. “

Damien and Shelice Douglas, of West Philadelphia, lounging in lawn chairs a few feet away, said Saturday was their first concert since the pandemic and their first outdoor concert – ever. They had mainly chosen seats on the lawn so that they could distance themselves socially more effectively, but between the breeze and the sun and the safely distant spectators, they decided that they liked the lawn even better than the seats in the arena. below.

“I am in awe of the feeling of well-being,” Damien said with a laugh.