Re-enactors fire muskets during the Whiskey Rebellion Festival in Washington, Pennsylvania, July 2019. The annual festival was canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Mike Jones)

As the nation approaches summertime, the threat of festivals, concerts and events being canceled in light of the COVID-19 outbreak is imminent. Though some states are beginning to enter into the first stages of their reopening plans, the immediate future for live entertainment is murky at best.

In nearby Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, three June concerts remain on the books at the popular outdoor concert venue S&T Bank Music Park. The shows, Maroon 5, Megadeth and Nickelback, have not been officially canceled nor postponed, and the venue says via its web page that it is working with the artists and will update ticket holders as quickly as possible.

The venue operates through Live Nation, which has rescheduled some of its summer concerts, like one featuring the Dave Matthews Band, at the pavilion to next year. Live Nation announced it would honor already purchased tickets for the new date of that show or consider requests for refunds.

The venue posted on its Facebook page last month about Live Nation’s “Ticket Relief Plan,” which includes refund options if a show is canceled or postponed due to the pandemic.

“We know how important live events are to each of you and we thank you for your patience as we all continue to work through these unprecedented times together,” the Live Nation post read. “For everyone missing concerts as much as we are, just know we will be here ready to start the show, when we can all experience the magic of live music together again.”

Concert organizers are not the only planners facing a questionable future this summer.

In Marietta, Ohio, sits a building that’s more than 100 years old — the People’s Bank Theatre. The historic theatre was reopened in 2016 after 15 years of fundraising to restore the building back to its former glory.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, however, the theatre will remain temporarily closed and all events have been rescheduled.

Executive director Hunt Brawley said they were fortunate to be able to reschedule artist performances. He said the theatre is looking at different options and ideas to bring their entertainment to the public.

“We’re looking at ways to do something that may not be part of the normal repertoire, anything from a live stream event from our stage or a partial audience,” Brawley said. “We’ve talked about a number of events within the theatre that we can do — maybe that’s with limited numbers, not our full capacity.”

He added that organizers have also discussed staging outside events or fundraisers to help generate revenue.

Brawley hopes the closure doesn’t extend much longer as he awaits guidance from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

“I think a lot of us (in the theatre industry) realize we’re going to be the last (to open),” he said. “We’re a meeting space, close proximity with large numbers of people. We’re just kind of hoping for the best, but I try to keep things moving forward.”

He said how the theatre will open depends on the state’s guidelines and how the theatre’s board feels about reopening.

“We’ll be paying close attention to those guidelines, and we would probably have to take additional safety measures based on guidelines,” Brawley said. “A large part is dependent on how the artists feel as well. Frankly, they’ve got to make the decision. I think we’re all trying to act on the best information we have.”

Brawley said he’s hoping for better news soon and that he and the theatre’s artists are anxious to get back to work.

“The theatre received some recovery money and without that, we’d probably be taking more drastic measures,” he said. “We’re not any different from other small businesses.”

Brawley suggested that people check out the theatre’s website for more updates about rescheduling and he hopes to develop live stream events in the coming weeks.

“What makes a live entertainment venue what it is — it’s a spontaneous event that you can’t duplicate,” Brawley said. “We’re hoping things turn for the better.”

PENNSYLVANIA

Other events in nearby Washington County, Pennsylvania, remain in limbo as well. The Monongahela Aquatorium hosts festivals, parties and concerts throughout the season, but this this around, things continue to be up in the air.

“We haven’t made any decisions,” said Claudia Williams, who’s on the board of directors for the nonprofit venue, owned by the City of Monongahela. “We have bookings pending, but we haven’t cancelled or confirmed them.”

Other major summer festivals, events and parades — such as its first-ever Pride Festival and its annual Whiskey Rebellion Festival — have had to be canceled in Washington County. The Whiskey Rebellion is a four-day celebration of Washington’s history. It brings large crowds each year, but this year the festival’s committee decided to cancel it out of caution amid the pandemic.

“We felt that although it’s a difficult decision, it absolutely had to be made that way,” said festival co-chair Joseph Piszczor. “We are going to try to have some activities virtually to keep the celebration alive. These events, especially the Whiskey Rebellion, give our community a lot of opportunity to connect and engage with each other.”

Washington Mayor Scott Putnam said that while he understands the decision, canceling the popular festival will be “a crushing blow to the city and local economy.”

“The numbers are around 20,000 that come to our downtown,” he said. “Many are making that trip for the first time, and many come back year to year.”

WEST VIRGINIA

Another big hit to the entertainment world in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia came when one of the nation’s most prestigious theater festivals, the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, announced its plans to nix the 2020 gathering. The event, which is responsible for a large chunk of the West Virginia town’s yearly tourist dollars, will return in 2021, according its founder, Ed Herendeen.

“We are not canceling it, we are not postponing it, we are rescheduling it,” Herendeen said. “Due to an abundance of caution, we believe in keeping our staff, community and patrons safe during these uncertain times, and we also believe in the health and safety of these artists.

“I think it’s the only decision we could have made,” he concluded.

As concern about and cases of the coronavirus spread, venues around West Virginia canceled or rescheduled events from country concerts featuring Gary Allan and Trace Adkins to musical productions like “An American in Paris.”

In Parkersburg, the first two performances of the popular Point Park Concert Series – which brings tribute acts to the amphitheater on the Ohio River – have been canceled. The Actors Guild of Parkersburg community theater group postponed its productions of “The Producers,” “Hallelujah Girls” and “Rock of Ages,” with no new dates set.

Parkersburg’s historic Smoot Theatre was set to close out its season on April 17 with the musical “Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story.” It has since been rescheduled for Oct. 31, with the 2020-21 season now pushed back to November rather than its usual August or September start, said Felice Jorgeson, theater director.

“We don’t know when we can even open,” she said. “Who wants to sit that close to other people?”

As one season comes to a close, the mostly volunteer-run theater’s cash level often gets low while season passes and donations are solicited.

“So, the checks come in the mail, and the bank account gets full again,” Jorgeson said. “Our season patrons are our lifeblood.”

The Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences in Charleston encompasses a children’s museum, art museum and performance hall. It’s been closed since mid-March, with the mission to bring access to the arts and sciences shifting online with educational activities and virtual performances by local artists, said Morgan Robinson, vice president of marketing and sales for the center.

A number of performances were moved from spring to summer, but as restrictions have been slow to lift, the schedule is changing again. Some activities may resume in the fall, but potentially bigger draws are being pushed back even further.

Three Dog Night was set to take the stage April 23 and has since been rescheduled to July 3. But even as the band — whose hits include “Joy to the World” and “Mama Told Me (Not to Come)” — expected to fill the Maier Foundation Performance Hall to its near-1,800-seat capacity, “it’s looking like that’s going to be moved to 2021,” Robinson said.

Lawrence (Kansas) Journal-World reporter Rochelle Valverde contributed to this report.