Olympia arts venues to require proof of vaccination to attend events

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been edited to correct when a negative COVID must be taken.

Harlequin Productions, The Washington Center for the Performing Arts and the Olympia Film Society will require proof of vaccination to attend events, Harlequin announced Monday.

At Harlequin and the Washington Center, individuals unable to be fully vaccinated, including children younger than 12, must have proof of a negative COVID PCR test taken within 72 hours of the performance, Harlequin’s announcement says. Staff will check for proof of vaccination and negative tests at the doors as a condition of entry.

Masks also will be required inside the arts venues. Patrons and employees will be required to wear masks except while actively eating or drinking, the announcement says.

The Olympia Film Society will only accept proof of vaccination, not negative test results, for entry to events, according to OFS executive director Audrey Henley.

“Olympia’s three major theaters are all so different,” Henley told The Olympian. “In terms of operations, we want to try to all operate similarly if we can so our patrons aren’t confused. We’re trying to keep that streamlined, but currently we’re the only ones who aren’t accepting negative COVID test results for entrance into concerts and events.

She said the reason is that OFS has a lot of vulnerable clientele.

“Every risk that we can manage helps us feel comfortable operating again and having the public in the theater again,” she said.

Jill Barnes, the Washington Center’s executive director, said the center has spent considerable time and energy researching its best options as the pandemic continues.

For example, the Audience Outlook Monitor is a multi-phase study tracking how audiences feel about returning to events in the context of the COVID-19 and includes 657 participating organizations and over 592,487 survey responses to date.

“The recent July takeaway from the survey showed us that attitudes about vaccinated-only admittance policies are increasingly favorable,” Barnes wrote in an email to The Olympian. “Also, 96% of those survey respondents were fully vaccinated, indicating that the majority of performance arts ticket buyers are already vaccinated.”

Arts leaders also have consulted their peers regional and nationally, Barnes said.

“We were encouraged to see that Seattle Theatre Group publicly instituted this requirement, while we were simultaneously busy facilitating internal conversations of doing the same,” Barnes told The Olympian. “It was important to me to connect with all of our internal stakeholders, including staff, crew, volunteers, artistic partners, and renters. ...”

According to Harlequin’s announcement, the arts groups will accept any of the following as proof of full vaccination, along with matching photo identification:

• Vaccination card (which includes name of person vaccinated, type of vaccine provided and date last dose administered);
• a photo of a vaccination card as a separate document;
• a photo of the attendee’s vaccine card stored on a phone or electronic device;
• documentation of vaccination from a healthcare provider electronic health record or state Immunization Information System record.

At Harlequin and the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, the following will be accepted as proof of a negative COVID-19 test results for children under 12 and those with medical or religious exemptions:

• Printed document (from the test provider or laboratory);
• An email or text message displayed on a phone or electronic device from the test provider or laboratory.

The information provided should include name of person tested, type of test performed, and date of negative test result. A matching photo ID also will be required at the door.

Self-reported vaccination records that are not verified by a health care provider or self-reported negative test results will not be accepted, Harlequin’s announcement said.

Harlequin’s full COVID-19 Health Procedures and Protocols are available on the COVID Protocol page of the Harlequin website.

This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.