Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park’s 2020 Concert Series is the latest disappearance from the summer events schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision cancelling the 2020 Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens concert series was difficult but necessary due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversations leading to the decision began taking shape in mid-March when the park closed its doors to the public.
“Our initial thought was we might need to dump some of our late May, early June shows. Tack some shows onto the end in September, go a little later into the fall.”
But in the end, John VanderHaagen, Director of Communications at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park explains there was no realistic way to keep 1,900 concertgoers, staff, volunteers and touring crews safe. A number of options were explored including virtual concerts or limited ticketing.
“And the math doesn’t really make sense to do reduced capacity. So, our one possibility that might still be an option here that we’re looking to explore is, if things are safe later on this fall, would be to do a more local and regional model similar to our Tuesday Evening Music Club.”
If that’s not possible, VanderHaagen says look forward to the acts schedule for this summer appearing in the 2021 concert series.
I’m Patrick Center.