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‘Cautious and measured’: Harrison Festival of the Arts summer planning underway

Lineup to be announced in mid May
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Toque Flamenco gave a passionate performance at the Harrison Memorial Hall last Saturday for the first show in the Harrison Festival Society’s 29th Season of Performing Arts. Hunter Ramey

The show must go on – but carefully.

The Harrison Festival Society released optimistic – yet cautious and careful – update on Friday morning regarding the famed Harrison Festival of the Arts for this summer. The 42-year-old festival is one of a lengthy list of events delayed or outright canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Since the Festival is in July, we are carrying-on with our planning in a cautious and measured way,” the release stated. “We will, of course, be keeping an eye on the every-evolving situation and make informed decisions with health and safety as our top priority, aware that we live in a community with a large population of seniors, who are the most adversely affected by COVID-19.

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The Festival Society canceled the last two season shows due to COVID-19 worries.

The Festival Society said they will delay their lineup announcement, which was scheduled for sometime in mid-April.

“Because we have so many traveling artists each year and the situation just keeps changing, we will postpone that announcement until early May,” the statement said.

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The Ranger Station Art Gallery is at this time closed due to COVID-19 concerns and all Festival Society staff are currently working from home. Any questions can be forwarded to info@harrisonfestival.com.

“We’re a very creative bunch, so look forward to some creative solutions coming your way,” the release said.

The Festival Society encouraged residents to let their creativity flow during this time of isolation and uncertainty.

“Go ahead and create something,” the statement reads. “Paint, sing, dance, learn a new song or learn a new instrument. The other side of this situation is going to look very different, and we might not be able to control that, but what we can control is how we as a community of artist can come out of it with new skills, knowledge and passion for our creative selves. Take that leap and just go for it!”

To stay up to date on all the Festival Society is involved in, check out their website at https://harrisonfestival.com/.



adam.louis@ahobserver.com

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