CLINTON, Ind. (WTHI)- It's a little quieter than you'd expect on a labor day weekend in Clinton, Indiana.
Normally, the town would be celebrating the Little Italy Festival. But, because of the coronavirus, streets are emptier.
"Weird...usually you'd see like flea markets all over that thing over there and food markets. They just wanted to take safety precautions," said Eric Hinkle who lives in Clinton.
But if you go deeper into town, you might get a whiff of something familiar.
Food truck vendors were up along Main St.
Steve Dalton owns Dalton's Barbecue and Italian Beef, one of the food vendors that was set up.
He told us, even in a pandemic, food will always bring people together.
"We're just trying to give the community a taste of the festival when there ain't no festival going on. It's really important, just wanted something for the community," said Dalton.
Mayor Jack Gilfoy agrees. He told us many local businesses are losing money because the festival is canceled.
Even though the festival itself isn't in town, the spirit of celebration still lives on.
"I think people will be able to come out and enjoy those. It's not an easy thing for this community but I think that they realize that next year they'll be back and it'll be better and bigger than ever," said Mayor Gilfoy.
But until then, some say this will do just fine.
"People are coming up and see some friends have some good food. In my eyes they're trying to carry on the tradition that's been going on here for years," said Justin and Eric Hinkle.
Vendors will be set up for the holiday weekend.
