As you know, all of us BFS folks are seriously missing building community through participatory dance and music. BFS events and programs bring people together, support musicians and dance leaders, and offer up a generous helping of healthy FUN. We can’t host dances for a long time yet, and that includes Dancing in the Park, but we’re working on ways we can fulfill our mission in ways that feel both safe and satisfying.
Meanwhile, on the “Rays of Sunshine” front, Ando Anderson (a BFS supporter) and Annadeene K. Fowler (a BFS supporter, co-founder, and former board member) have worked extraordinarily hard with their Belfast Summer Nights team to cook up tasty treats for all of us. They’ve covered vital elements of BFS programming: supporting local musicians, bringing people together, building community, and having healthy FUN. Plus… Bonus!… We get to boogie with our households in our POFSRVs!
Belfast Summer Nights 2020
Keeping our Friends and Neighbors Healthy Concert Series
This year’s offering celebrates our community’s ability to take care of each other by distancing and masking while still enjoying life in these crazy times in our crazy town. Our concerts will be performed from the center of the footbridge (which will be closed to all traffic 3-8:30pm on those afternoons). You, our audience members, have lots of options on the east or west side shorelines for lawn chairs; or even better, you may see and hear the shows in a Personal Or Family Seafaring Recognizance Vehicle (POFSRV) aka boat. More on this later.
Our shows are scheduled for July 16, August 6, and September 3. Due to the small number of shows, we will be having some limited optional dates in case of poor weather. Keeping with the Belfast Summer Nights tradition, all shows will run from 5:30-7:30 pm.
As good as this idea is, there are some possible problems. As the concert promoter, I don’t want to do anything that will compromise the health of anyone, especially friends and neighbors who have supported my many schemes and ideas over the last several (forty) years. So, here are a some requests I’m making:
*Please join in the fun spirit of this celebration to keep friends and neighbors healthy. Give plenty of distance and mask up.
*Please attend the shows with your family or household groups. There’s plenty of room to spread out between the footbridge and the edge of Belfast Harbor. Watch from the water to multiply the fun but don’t forget to maintain distance and mask up.
*Decorate your POFSRV aka boat with Keeping Friends and Neighbors Healthy themed artwork. Weekly prizes will be be awarded and new categories will be be announced at the shows and via Facebook.
Many of our usual sponsors have spent much of this year with closed doors. If you would like to help out making this celebration possible you may send a check to :
Waterfall Arts/Belfast Summer Nights
256 High Street
Belfast, Maine 04915
The July 16 show features Muskeg and Shirt Tail Kin. We will have a Paypal account set up for digital donations soon.
Thanks! Ando