Pandemic forces Wolf Trap to cancel summer concerts

摘要

For the first time in its history, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts won't have summer concerts. In an email to its supporters, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Va., said today it had canceled its entire 2020 summer concert season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Calling the canceled season "a pause in the long arc" of Wolf Trap's history, Arvind Manocha, the foundation's president and CEO, said it was necessary because the "concern for the welfare of all makes summer gatherings for performances unfeasible." "It is with profound sadness that I announce that we are cancelling the summer 2020 concert season," Manocha said. "For the first time in nearly 50 years, the Filene Center and Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods at Wolf Trap National Park and The Barns at Wolf Trap will not host live performances from May through September." The foundation, which operates under a contract with the National Park Service, had geared up for performances by a long list of acts, including John Legend, Brandi Carlile, Little Big Town, Train and Barenaked Ladies. Some of the performances have already been rescheduled for 2021, when Wolf Trap will mark its 50th anniversary. George Liffert, superintendent for Wolf Trap, expressed disappointment. "The enjoyment of live concerts at the only national park dedicated to the performing arts has been a summer tradition for thousands of people for nearly 50 years, and I am greatly disappointed the 2020 summer season has been impacted by the pandemic."