JACKSONVILLE, Ore. – March is one week away, the Britt Festival is busy planning for a season not knowing when or how it will begin. With COVID, Britt is facing the same problems Oregon Shakespeare Festival and so many more are facing not knowing when in-person performances can begin.
Planning a summer’s worth of concerts is never easy, but in the age of COVID, with so much uncertainty it’s nearly impossible. That’s what the Britt Festival is facing, as it tries to bounce back this year after having no season last summer.
“Everything is uncertain and we are moving forward as best as we possibly can,” said Britt President, Donna Briggs.
Henry V, Oregon Shakespeare Festival 2012
Ashland, 2012
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Britt Music and Arts Festival are two regional arts organizations expected to benefit from $15 billion in federal grants set aside in the new coronavirus relief bill.
Arts and culture venues forced to close during the pandemic are one budget item in the massive, $900 billion federal relief bill passed by Congress on Monday. Tucked into the over 5,000-page bill is the section “grants for shuttered venue operators” that have lost at least 25% of their revenue.
“It’s going to make all the difference in the world,” says Donna Briggs, president and CEO of the Britt Music and Arts Festival in Jacksonville. “Just to give you an example, in 2019 we had over $2 million in ticket sales. In 2020 we had zero.”