Fraze season called off due to pandemic
‘Heartbreaking’ move; other area venues await further developments.
KETTERING — Fraze Pavilion in Kettering canceled its concert season for the year, while two other popular venues, the Rose Music Center and Levitt Pavilion, contemplate the same fate.
“As heartbreaking as this is for all of us, nothing will supersede the health and wellness of anyone,” City Manager Mark Schwieterman said.
Guests who purchased tickets for the upcoming season directly from the Fraze Fanfare box office, Etix online or over the phone will automatically receive a refund within the next 14 days.
The Fraze has annually generated $4.5 million for Kettering and has been a staple for concert season since 2001, with acts like the Avett Brothers, Little Big Town, and Earth Wind and Fire coming to town.
In recent years, Kettering has had to increase its subsidy for the venue. Last fall, the city agreed to infuse $1 million into the Fraze Pavilion’s budget to help attract acts.
This year’s summer concert series was to feature acts including: Gladys Knight, the Texas Tenors, Chris Botti, Styx with Night Ranger, Trace Adkins, Jeffrey Osborne and Peabo Bryson, plus other special events.
The Levitt Pavilion’s summer concert series is on hold while organizers wait to learn more about coronavirus procedures and precautions from state and local authorities.
At this point, organizers assume no concerts will take place at Levitt Pavilion through May and June.
“We are still holding on to the hope our 2020 Eichel- berger Concert Season will happen, and there will be free music at Levitt Dayton,” said Lisa Wagner, executive director, Friends of Levitt Pavilion Dayton. “We are taking it day by day.”
Wagner said public safety is Levitt Dayton’s priority.
Wagner said the concert season would typically end in late September, so the organizers are remaining “fluid and flexible in our approach of making music accessible for everyone, as I am sure, when it is safe to do so, we would all enjoy connecting to music on a warm summer night.”
The Rose Music Center in Huber Heights is still planning on a concert season, according to Huber Heights City Manager Rob Schom- mer.
Shows that had been scheduled for May a nd June have been moved or canceled.
The Rose Music Center canceled Alice Cooper, with Tesla and Lita Ford; the Steve Miller Band, with Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives; and The Hollies.
“We are optimistic that the state will lift those restrictions that would keep us from having a concert season and we are looking forward to the continued reopening of the state,” Schommer said. “We want to get back to an important part of people’s lives, which is entertainment.”
S ch o mmer said if the venue reopens, they will look into doing some trans- actions “touchless” and will take all health department and industry recommen- dations on how to operate post-coronavirus.
“We want to make sure that the patron experience is as comfortable as possi- ble,” Schommer said. “The patron and performer experience is the most import- ant thing to us.”
Due to the recent cancel- lations and postponements at the Rose Music Center, the venue has issued a new refund policy. Ticket holders who bought tickets through Ticketmaster will automatically get a refund for canceled events or have 30 days to opt in to receiving a 150% credit to use toward buying future tickets.
Tickets purchased for a show that has been rescheduled will automatically be valid for the new date, unless the ticket holder wants to get a refund for that rescheduled show at least 30 days before the new date.
If the show is postponed with no new date set yet, ticket holders will be able to choose their re f und option once the new date is announced. If ticket hold- ers still have yet to hear of the fate of their postponed show 60 days after its orig- inal date, the 30-day window for refunds will open at that time.
More information about this policy change was sent out to all ticket holders around May 1.
Mayor Don Patterson, who has been championing the efforts of the community and those in the Miami Valley to stay safe and work together during the COVID- 19 crisis, echoed Schwieter- man’s sentiments.
“No matter how big or small, decisions made lie in the best interest of our residents. Until we have guidance from the state of Ohio regarding mass gatherings, we have no other choice without putting our com- munity, employees, customers and performers at risk,” Patterson said.
Kettering has also canceled its Go 4th Fireworks Independence Day celebration due to the pandemic, while also announcing that the Adventure Reef Water Park and splash pad at J.F. Kennedy Park will not open this year and that all summer camps and sports programs are canceled.
BRUSSELS — New coronavirus clusters have surfaced around the world as nations figure out how to balance reopening economies and preventing a second wave of infections, while a global health official predicted Wednesday that COVID-19 could be around for a long time.
Authorities in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the pandemic first began late last year, reportedly were pressing ahead Wednesday to test all 11 million residents for the virus within 10 days after a handful of new infections were found.
In Lebanon, authorities reinstated a nationwide lock- down for four days beginning Wednesday night after a spike in reported infections and complaints from officials that social distancing rules were being ignored.
A top World Health Organization official, meanwhile, said that it’s possible the new coronavirus may be here to stay.
“This virus may never go away,” Dr. Michael Ryan said in a press briefing Wednes- day. Without a vaccine, he said it could take years for the global population to build up sufficient levels of immunity.
“I think it’s important to put this on the table,” he said. “This virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities,” he said.
Despite the risk that loos- ening restrictions may lead to infection spikes, European nations have been seeking to restart cross-border travel, particularly as the summer holiday season looms for countries whose economies rely on tourists flocking to their beaches, museums and historical sites.
The European Union unveiled a plan to help citi- zens across its 27 nations salvage their summer vacations after months of coronavi- rus lockdown and resurrect Europe’s badly battered tour- ism industry. The pandemic has prompted border closures across Europe and shut down the lifeline of cheap local flights.
The EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, laid out its advice for lifting ID checks at closed borders, helping to get airlines, ferries and buses running while ensuring the safety of passengers and crew, and preparing health measures for hotels.
It’s not clear whether EU nations will follow that advice, since they, not Brus- sels, have the final say over health and security matters.
Some European countries have sought bilateral agree- ments with their neighbors.
Austria said its border with Germany would reopen fully on June 15, and that border checks would be reduced starting Friday. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Austria was aiming for similar agreements with Switzerland, Liechtenstein and its eastern neighbors “as long as the infection figures allow.”
German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass said his coun- try will lift a blanket warn- ing against foreign travel for European destinations before other places, but didn’t spec- ify when. Germany’s warn- ing against all nonessential tourist travel abroad runs until at least June 14.
The tension in balancing people’s safety against the severe economic fallout is playing out across theworld.
European countries have begun slowly easing their lockdowns, from barber shops reopeningnext week in Belgium to some schools starting up again soon in Portugal. But a raft of safety rules are being put in place, including reducing the number of children in Belgian preschool classes and various forms of social distancing.