Grand Isle Bar Has Permit Suspended After Large Concert, Public Safety Violations
Multiple state agencies have responded to a large concert that was held in Grand Isle, LA over the weekend.
Video of the concert showed that most people in the crowd were standing side-by-side and not wearing masks. A report from WVUE said that the Louisiana Office Of State Fire Marshal, along with the Louisiana Department of Health and the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, investigated the large concert to decided of any state coronavirus mandates were violated.
On Monday afternoon it was reported that the Sand Dollar Tiki Bar in Grand Isle was indeed serving drinks to a crowd and allowing them to stay on the premises to consume those drinks despite the "limitations of its bar permit."
In response to multiple complaints regarding a large, non-socially distanced crowd at an outdoor pavilion in Grand Isle over the weekend, the Sand Dollar Tiki Bar was found to have been serving drinks to the crowd and allowing them to remain on-premises to consume those drinks despite the limitations of its bar permit. The investigation into this case is ongoing
The Grand Isle Police Chief Laine Landry told WVUE that while he was "extremely frustrated" when he saw the event, he doesn't know of any power that his department would have to disperse a crowd "thought to be violating the state mandate."
The fire marshal's office told us it's the responsibility of the band to maintain social distancing or whoever sponsored the event
The report noted that several hundred people were seen standing "directly next to one another" while the band, Parish County Line, performed.
Many in the crowd were not wearing masks, which are also mandated by Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards are part of preventative measures tied to the coronavirus outbreak in the state. The governor’s mandate only allows for outdoor crowds of up to 50 people, if social distancing is not possible. If social distancing of at least six feet is possible and being adhered to, there is not a limit on crowd size.
Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle said that he wasn't aware the event was planned on the private pavilion that is located at the end of the island next to a parish-owned pavilion used for the Tarpon Rodeo, an annual event that was postponed this year due to the coronavirus.
In addition to the Sand Tiki Dollar Bar, Louisiana State Fire Marshal Butch Browning suspended bar permits for three other bars who violated public safety mandates over the weekend. Browning says that his office did not approve the event and fielded complaints before it even started. When someone went out to speak with someone they "couldn't find them."
We didn’t know who the organizers were. In speaking with the Sand Dollar Isle owners, they advised us that the next-door property that belongs to the parish, there is a concert planned.
See the latest updates in the full story here via WVUE.