While businesses are opening back up, summer concert series are shutting down.

Free outdoor concerts are offered in many communities in June, July and August.

Mill Creek MetroParks and the Niles-McKinley Memorial Library already have canceled their concert series while others are waiting for guidance about the COVID-19 virus before deciding whether to announce or scrap their schedules.

Brian Tolnar, golf and recreation director at Mill Creek MetroParks, said there’s no guarantee when the state will allow gatherings of more than 50 people. For the safety of park patrons and in fairness to the acts booked this year, the MetroParks didn’t want to put off the decision.

“We’re certainly disappointed,” Tolnar said. “There was a lot of time and effort involved in putting together the schedule we had … We wanted to err on the side of caution.”

The cancellations include three concerts at Wick Recreation Area’s Judge Morley Pavilion and three concerts at Struthers’ Yellow Creek Park as well as a monthly outdoor film series at Morley Pavilion.

“We’re really hopeful in August, September, October we can do something and hopefully not have a flare up of this in the fall,” he said.

Many of the concert series receive funding from a performance trust administered by the American Federation of Musicians. Del Sinchak, president of AFM Local 86-242, said the money is there and entertainers are booked.

“They have their schedules, but we don’t know whether they’re going to have them or not,” Sinchak said. “Some are waiting until later in the month to see if they are able to do it.”

Sinchak listed Canfield, Poland, McDonald and Woodworth Park in North Lima as some of the communities that have lineups ready to announce if concerts can go forward.

A Grammy-nominated polka bandleader, Sinchak is one of the many area musicians who regularly plays the summer concerts. He found out during this interview on Wednesday that the Greater Youngstown Italian Fest was among the events canceled because of the coronavirus.

“Son of a gun, I was playing for that one,” he said. “We might lose every gig we have this summer … I haven’t played a job for three months.”

The W.D. Packard Concert Band plays six shows every summer at the band shell on the south lawn of Packard Music Hall in Warren. Executive Director Thomas Groth said he is planning concerts as if they will take place.

“The bottom line is we can’t do anything until we get federal, state or government guidelines about what is going to happen,” Groth said. “I just got the Fourth of July music … I’m just going concert to concert to see what happens and we’ll be ready to go.”

agray@tribtoday.com