The Curtain Rises, At Last
Live arts reemerge from a dark pandemic year
Caroline Rose performing on June 12 at the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival.
July 19, 2021
On an evening in early June, people lounged in camp chairs and blankets on the grass at Point State Park, lines formed at food booths on the edge of the lawn and people stood shoulder-to-shoulder, swaying to the sounds of blues rock and soul music performed by Celisse on the main stage.
It was more than a good time along the river that opening night of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. Live music performed before a live audience had returned after more than a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, masking, social distancing and shuttered performance spaces that threatened the financial health of art organizations, cancelled hundreds of performances, laid off workers and forced arts groups to re-think everything from business models to how they approach their art.