Anyone remember back in April when we were optimistic that we’d be back to normal by mid-summer, or early fall at the latest? Then all those huge tours packing the summer concert schedule postponed until late in the season, or announced that they were kicking it back until next year. Some spring and summer festivals postponed until the fall when surely this pandemic would be over, right? And we were absolutely sure we’d have a normal 2021, with all those beloved events back on track after skipping a year.
It’s not looking like it. The failure of our country to take coordinated safety measures and the anti-safety messages coming from the very top have caused numerous states to have surging rates of coronavirus infections. And the proof that we’ve got a long haul ahead of us is that late-in-the-year and early 2021 events have begun to announce cancellations and changes.
First of all we heard from the sponsors of the annual Thanksgiving Polka weekend, which has happened annual since 1963, that they’re skipping this year entirely and looking ahead at Fri November 26-Sunday November 28, 2021 with a new location, moving from downtown to the Holiday Inn South in Independence. That’s where the 57thannual Polka Weekend will take place, along with the Polka Hall of Fame Awards show on Saturday November 27. They’ll also be debuting a polka brunch on Sunday November 28, 2021. All the usual music, dancing and jam sessions will take place. They’ve already lined up performers from Michigan, Pittsburgh, Nashville and Cleveland.
The move is unsurprising, considering that the crowd skews older and comes to Cleveland from across the country. The Holiday Inn South is already taking room reservations and more information is available through the Polka Hall of Fame at 216-261-3263 or 1-866-66-POLKA.
Then we heard from Brite Winter, the last major festival to happen this year before everything shut down. (It took place on February 22). They’ve decided to pull this plug in the upcoming February festival.
“As you are aware, arts organizations around the globe have had to cancel, postpone, or modify their regular events due to public health concerns around Covid-19” they tell us. “Brite Winter is no different. While we will not be hosting our typical one-day bash in February, we will still have a winter full of art, music, and connection. It will be different, but we are looking forward to the opportunity to continue to bring joy to our Cleveland community in a new and different way. We are still working out the exact details, but look for music and visual arts programming in virtual and small outdoor settings in January, February, and March.” Stay tuned for updates at facebook.com/britewinter/.
Finally, the Cleveland International Film Festival — facing not only the probability that much of its audience won’t feel comfortable spending a lot of time inside movie theaters in April but also the logistics of losing its long-time home at Tower City Cinemas (which has closed permanently) — has announced its 45thannual season in 2021 will be all online April 7-20. This will be the second virtual year for the festival, which quickly pulled the plug on its late March start date when the state shut down in mid-March.
“This decision, which was unanimously approved by the CIFF Board of Directors at its September 29, 2020 meeting, is based on science and community circumstances, as well as the state of the film, theater and event industries,” they write. “In addition, during this time of great uncertainty and in the throes of a resurgent coronavirus pandemic, the organization believes it is the most responsible option when it comes to the safety of all those involved — including attendees, filmmakers, volunteers, trustees, and staff.
The CIFF organization has already been providing streaming content for film fans, not only with its virtual festival in the spring, but also with other presentations such as Halfway to CIFF this week, and hopes to build on that audience. The virtual festival will feature hundreds of films, along with post-film discussions, Q&As with filmmakers, awards and other activities. It will also be two days longer than usual
CIFF 46 is scheduled to take place at Playhouse Square in spring, 2022.
Will 2022 see a return to normalcy? Fingers crossed! While we love the artistic content of these events, the social content — running into friends and meeting new people — is a huge part of the joy of these events. And many of us are Zoomed out!