Clark State PAC to offer live entertainment this fall
The Clark State Performing Arts Center will follow up its successful series of live summer entertainment shows with a new set of outdoor and indoor performances in the coming months.
The Close to Home Series that entertained audiences with local talent while social distancing on the PAC courtyard, located at 300 S. Fountain Ave., will return live at 5 p.m. Fridays in September.
The shows are free and food trucks and a full-service bar will be available.
“This continues to help fill voids in the community where all of the traditional music and entertainment has been canceled,” said PAC executive director Adele Adkins. “More than ever, people are craving human interaction the longer the pandemic continues. These concerts allow for people to safely be together and also give the opportunity for performers to perform.”
Musician and guitarist Andy Fox, who also led off the summer series, is back with his fingerstyle playing in several genres on Sept. 4. D J Chill, also known as Christopher Chilton, will bring his silent disco offering, perfect for dancing the night away on Sept. 11.
Following several months of well-received virtual shows, the Springfield Arts Council’s Youth Arts Ambassadors will show off their talent on Sept. 18. The series will close on Sept. 25 with acoustic country and southern rock from performers Gene Bowshier, Billy Hall and Casey Motschman.
Earlier in the summer,
Clark State joined the popular trend of drive-in concerts with local country music favorite Wyatt McCubbin, which drew a crowd to its Leffel Lane campus. Future drive-in concert dates and artists will be announced in coming weeks and tickets will be on sale in early September. Attendees are asked to stay in their vehicles and bring their own concessions. These shows will bring the energy of a live concert while still meeting social distancing standards by keeping attendees safe in their cars with friends and family. Speakers set up throughout the parking lot will enhance the experience.
Clark State will use the Hollenbeck Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center to bring audiences back inside for a different experience, a cabaret series called “The Show Must Go On!” Shows are set for 7 p.m. Oct. 30 and Dec. 12. Two more performances may be added. Audiences will get an evening of songs from various genres and performers from
Ohio under the direction of PAC veterans Dan Hunt and Jimmy Straley.
Adkins said safety measures will be in place for each session with attendees required to wear masks. Attendees will have their own tables, socially distanced at 8-feet apart and can take groups of up to 10. Tickets must be purchased in one transaction for the group.
Tickets cost $25 apiece, which will include a dessert tray. Drinks can be preordered and available at the attendees’ table. There will also be a cash bar and servers.
The Hollenbeck Bayley Center is located at 275 S. Limestone St. in Springfield.
“The arts and entertainment business is amazingly resilient, even in economic downturns, people look to music to make them feel better,” Adkins said. “Everyone is feeling that absence so much now, and it is our mission to help fill this absence.”
For more information, visit the PAC’s Facebook page and https://pac.clarkstate.edu/.