No Music in the Park free concert series for second year in a row, ODA announces
Residents won’t find free concerts at Olympia’s Sylvester Park this summer for the second year in a row due to COVID-19 uncertainty.
The Olympia Downtown Alliance announced Thursday it has canceled the 41st season of the Music in the Park concert series. The annual concert series usually draws hundreds of people to weekly live music events in July and August.
Although Gov. Jay Inslee announced the state plans to reopen by June 30, the ODA release says the state Department of Enterprise Services will not issue any event permits until at least early June. Sylvester Park is a state park.
“It was a difficult decision to cancel the event, but we are exploring alternative ways to bring live music to the community,” said Todd Cutts, executive director of the Olympia Downtown Alliance, in a news release.
One alternative the alliance is working on is a downtown street festival. Such an event could include live music, family activities and a beer garden every Saturday from July 10 to Aug. 28, according to the release.
“We believe our summer Saturday street festival will offer a laid-back vibe with live music from local artists, space for tasting our local handcrafted ales, and a venue to explore what’s new from community groups, makers and artists,” Cutts said in the release.
However, the release says the alliance is still working out the details of this alternative before making an official announcement.
Last year, the alliance canceled the concert series over COVID-19 concerns. Rather than hold the series, the alliance partnered with the city of Olympia and Octapas Cafe to produce a series of online videos from local musicians. Eleven of those videos were posted to the alliance’s YouTube page where they are still accessible.
On May 13, Inslee said the state is on track to reopen its economy by June 30. He added the reopening could happen sooner if 70% or more state residents 16 or older receive their first COVID-19 dose before then.
Currently, all counties are in Phase 3 of the statewide reopening plan, meaning restaurants, bars and gyms can operate at 50% indoor capacity. Meanwhile, outdoor gatherings are limited to 50 people from outside a single household.
This story was originally published May 21, 2021 at 11:07 AM.
