SALT LAKE CITY Many Utahns feel safe and comfortable going shopping or eating at restaurants by this point during the COVID-19 pandemic. But when it comes to entertainment and cultural events, there s more hesitation, according to a new survey from Y2 Analytics.
About 91% of Utahns say they feel comfortable going to a zoo, garden or aquarium, whereas only 52% feel the same level of comfort about attending an indoor concert, play or other live performance.
Researchers surveyed 1,104 randomly selected registered Utah voters in early March. An oversample of 649 registered Salt Lake County voters were also included in the data and responses were weighted to make sure no group was disproportionately represented.
Battered by pandemic, Utah s arts and culture industry preps for return
and last updated 2021-04-30 19:52:40-04
SALT LAKE CITY â According to data from Y2 Analytics, Utah s arts and culture industry suffered some of the biggest losses during the pandemic. The industry lost more than $76.5 million, and more than 25,000 workers lost their jobs in the last year â the vast majority being gig and independent contract workers.
The data was compiled as part of a recent survey conducted by Y2 on the community s comfort when it comes to the return of live and in-person entertainment. Y2 surveyed more than one thousand people around the state and found that people are currently less comfortable going to live entertainment or cultural events than visiting retail shops and restaurants, but over half surveyed said they anticipate feeling more comfortable in the next six months.
Credit Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company
On Access Utah, we’ve checked in with arts organizations a couple of times during the pandemic. Today we’ll do so again. We’ll see how these organizations have fared in difficult circumstances, what creative new ideas might become standard practice, and what the future looks like. And we’ll ask you how your habits have changed during the pandemic and what you’re most looking forward to attending as things ease a bit.
If you are with an arts organization, we’d love to hear how your organization is doing. Email us now to upraccess@gmail.com Our guests will include Wendi Hassan, Executive Director of Cache Valley Center for the Arts; Daniel Charon, Artistic Director with the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company; and Cory Evans, USU Director of Choral Activities.
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Logan s Island Market is a small store but the neighborhood that shops there depends on it. Our goal is to keep our customers safe, and our employees safe, said owner Mark Lundt. He fought some pushback early during the pandemic by supporting mask-wearing. He is still concerned about safety even after the mandate is lifted. We re just going to ask people to keep wearing a mask if they re comfortable with it. If not, we re not going to make a big deal trying to stop someone, he said.
It s one of many issues business owners wrestled with every day.