2021 Letter from the Executive Director of Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua:
Dear Big Top Family,
As you may know, the Board and staff at the Big Top are working on our reopening plan and can’t wait to welcome you back to the tent this summer! It has been a tough year. We have lost some of our Big Top friends to this terrible virus, and we know that you have all been touched by this pandemic as well. It will be a wonderful and healing time to gather together again under the big blue & grey canopy on the ski hill.
Big Top plans to announce shows at the end of March and start to sell tickets beginning in April. We know that some of you are holding tickets to cancelled shows, and we will be coming to you with news on any rescheduled performances as soon as we can. We’ll be sure you can get a seat, and that our Blue Canvas Club members and Keepers will also have access to advance ticketing.
This year we are working out the details of being able to offer tickets to our shows virtually. With the success and impact that our Tiny Tent Show has enjoyed over the past year, it has become clear that many of you who cannot travel to Big Top as often as you would like, are interested in viewing programs from your home. With reduced capacity in the tent, paid virtual tickets could help cover our artist costs and provide that access to a wider audience.
As you may know, the Board and staff at the Big Top are working on our reopening plan and can’t wait to welcome you back to the tent this summer! It has been a tough year. We have lost some of our Big Top friends to this terrible virus, and we know that you have all been touched by this pandemic as well. It will be a wonderful and healing time to gather together again under the big blue & grey canopy on the ski hill.
Big Top plans to announce shows at the end of March and start to sell tickets beginning in April. We know that some of you are holding tickets to cancelled shows, and we will be coming to you with news on any rescheduled performances as soon as we can. We’ll be sure you can get a seat, and that our Blue Canvas Club members and Keepers will also have access to advance ticketing.
This year we are working out the details of being able to offer tickets to our shows virtually. With the success and impact that our Tiny Tent Show has enjoyed over the past year, it has become clear that many of you who cannot travel to Big Top as often as you would like, are interested in viewing programs from your home. With reduced capacity in the tent, paid virtual tickets could help cover our artist costs and provide that access to a wider audience.
We remain attentive to the most current recommendations of the CDC and other health experts, and are very optimistic that with a sound safety plan in place, we will be able to host shows this summer in a modified fashion. This will include limiting the seating capacity both inside and outside of the tent. Our safety plans include:
All of our plans are coming together as are the plans of our touring artists and resident musicians. We can’t wait to unveil the new performances that are being created by the Blue Canvas Orchestra, and to revisit some of the favorites that we all love like “Riding the Wind” and “Back to the Garden: The Music of Woodstock.” It will be a grand reunion with you under the tent this summer – our 35th Anniversary Season!
Thank you all for staying posted as we work out the final details for a most unusual summer to come. And thank you for all of your love and support in keeping us going for the last year when we could not be together except over the airwaves, and boy did we appreciate those connections through Tiny Tent Show and Tent Show Radio!
We are sending Big Top Magic your way until we see you back at the tent very soon! We are here in the office and are available for questions or even just to touch base. Give us a call at 715-373-5552 or an email at info@bigtop.org
Ballyhoo!
Love to you all,
- A limited-capacity seating chart that keeps each ticketed group socially distanced from other ticket buyers and from the performer’s airfield,
- A sanitization and cleaning plan for all areas of the tent, grounds, bathrooms, etc.,
- Rules surrounding mask wearing for all areas,
- The addition of hand sanitizing stations throughout the grounds,
- A Required agreement to adhere to our Covid-19 safety guidelines by all ticket buyers and performers,
- Maximize natural ventilation with open sidewalls, upward airflow, and the shell structure's electric ventilation roof fans,
- Traffic patterns to keep crowds as dispersed as possible when entering, exiting and walking about the tent grounds, bathrooms & porta-pots, venue footprint and parking lots,
- A safe food & beverage plan from our partners at Mt. Ashwabay to keep people distanced and products sanitized.
All of our plans are coming together as are the plans of our touring artists and resident musicians. We can’t wait to unveil the new performances that are being created by the Blue Canvas Orchestra, and to revisit some of the favorites that we all love like “Riding the Wind” and “Back to the Garden: The Music of Woodstock.” It will be a grand reunion with you under the tent this summer – our 35th Anniversary Season!
Thank you all for staying posted as we work out the final details for a most unusual summer to come. And thank you for all of your love and support in keeping us going for the last year when we could not be together except over the airwaves, and boy did we appreciate those connections through Tiny Tent Show and Tent Show Radio!
We are sending Big Top Magic your way until we see you back at the tent very soon! We are here in the office and are available for questions or even just to touch base. Give us a call at 715-373-5552 or an email at info@bigtop.org
Ballyhoo!
Love to you all,
Terry Matier
Executive Director
#BigTopStrong #BigTopCares #WeHeartBigTop
