Venues in Napa Valley forced to cancel, reschedule shows
As wildfires ravaged Northern California, several entertainment venues around the burn areas that survived the blazes were forced to cancel shows over the weekend.
Now they are worried that people are going to stop coming altogether.
“My job starts next week, when we begin to let people know the entire valley didn’t burn,” said Tom Fuller. He’s half of Fuller and Sander Communications, a public relations firm that represents Wine Country institutions Oxbow Public Market, a dining and shopping emporium in downtown Napa, and the annual BottleRock Napa Valley festival.
Blue Note Napa and the Jam Cellars Ballroom, both in the Napa Valley Opera House building in downtown Napa, were closed during the week but hope to resume business soon.
“We are working nonstop
with Blue Note New York to reschedule all the shows we had lined up in October for as soon as possible,” said Ken Tesler, the venue’s general manager. “If all goes well, and the fires permit, we will reopen on Nov. 7 with Dennis Quaid and the Sharks, and hope to be able to give the locals a musical respite to take their mind off their troubles.”
The first shows to be rescheduled at the venue will be the Rippingtons, who were supposed to have played Saturday, Oct. 14, and David Sanborn, who was to have headlined the venue’s first-anniversary party Friday, Oct. 20.
“The health and safety of our patrons, employees, talent and the residents of Napa Valley and surrounding affected areas are our primary concern at this time,” Tesler said. “We feel it unwise and unsafe for all concerned for our events to cause people who otherwise do not need to be in the area to visit.”
Uptown Theatre Napa canceled its Take Me to the River performance on Friday and postponed a pair of concerts with Boz Scaggs, a Napa resident and owner of fire-threatened Scaggs Vineyards, pushing them from next week to April 4-5.
Venue officials haven’t decided whether to go forward with a performance by comedian Howie Mandel on Saturday, Oct. 21.
“The situation is too fluid at this time for us to make any announcements beyond tonight’s cancellation,” Erica Simpson, the theater’s executive director, said Friday, Oct 13.
The opening of “The Crucible” at the Lucky Penny Community Arts Center in Napa, originally scheduled for next Friday, was postponed to Oct. 27.
“Three of our actors from Sonoma County were evacuated for varying times, and that set us back,” said Barry Martin, managing director of Lucky Penny Productions. “When it became clear that we’d be under wildfire conditions for several days, we knew we had to postpone.”
As Ca’ Momi Osteria was planning to host its second-anniversary celebration with a performance by Afrolicious this week, the city of Napa’s air quality was rated “hazardous” — the most dangerous level on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s scale.
Now the event is indefinitely postponed, said Jonny Tindall, the club’s manager. The venue used its kitchen to prepare 1,000 portions of hot meals for the first responders, volunteers and evacuees in the Napa area.
Ca’ Momi also distributed nearly 600 gift certificates for meals for people who lost their homes in the area.
“At the moment, very few patrons are out and about,” Tindall said. “We are attempting to cater to community need rather than commerce.”