Tour lengthened
Pandemic alters format from one-day event into a week of eating and voting
Pandemic alters Chowderfest’s format from one day to an entire week.
The annual Chowderfest is on tour this year because of the pandemic, so instead of 40,000 people filling tubs with chowder downtown on a single day, restaurants are making it a weeklong celebration.
Saturday marked the first day of the Saratoga Chowder Tour 2021, a different and pandemic-friendly approach to the event with patrons ordering to-go bowls, pints or quarts of their favorite chowders from participating restaurants. This year, there are more than 30 restaurants vying for a blue ribbon, and people can vote online for their favorite.
istration, the organization responsible for the distribution of the grants, eligible applicants can apply for a grant equal to 45 percent of their gross earned revenue with a limit of $10 million per grant.
The money may be used for rent or mortgage payments, state and local taxes, normal business and administrative expenses and capital expenses for live productions, among other things.
While the application process has not yet been finalized, the SBA said the first grants will go to arts venues that lost 90 percent or greater of revenue loss during the pandemic, followed two weeks later by those that lost 70 percent or more and then those who lost at least 25 percent. During the first 59 days, the grant program will set aside $2 billion for applicants with no more than 50 full-time employees.
SBA spokeswoman Andrea Roebker noted that the agency is developing the application portal but encouraged venue operators to check the SBA website for resources to prepare for submitting grant applications.
Owen Smith, producing artistic director at the Playhouse Stage Company in Albany, remembered canceling the remaining performances of a play in March with the hope that it could resume in a few weeks.
“There came a point where the writing was really on the wall for the arts industry,” said Smith. “But it was the right thing to do because, obviously, the priority has to be protecting life and protecting health.”
Philip Morris, CEO of the Proctors Collaborative — whose holdings include four theaters including the Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany and Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, said he laid off more than 200 parttime employees when he shut down his venues. Some of the venue operators who plan to apply for the grants said they would use the money to bolster safety protocols.
Allen Phelps, producing artistic director at the Theatre Barn in New Lebanon, said that he would hire additional cleaning crews for post-show cleanups and replace ventilation systems in the venue. Smith said that a grant would allow him to pay his staff as they prepare for the resumption of live theater.
“Being able to have government support, to keep our employees engaged and to keep them doing the work to be ready to reopen, that’s going to help us get to that finish line much faster,” he said.
All of the organizations did agree that the $15 billion will help ensure that the arts community can survive.
“We are enormously grateful that the legislation has been passed,” said Elizabeth Sobol, president and CEO of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. “At a time when we are seeking ways to heal and unite, the arts and live performance bring us together.”