NORFOLK, Va. - Live musicians, theatre and opera make their return at Virginia Arts Festival's Bank Street Stage starting Monday, April 12.
Like its name suggests, the stage sits under a tent on Bank Street in Downtown Norfolk, just across from the Virginia Arts Festival building.
Alli Pereira, who manages public relations for the festival, says the idea has been in the works for 6-8 months; a discussion that started in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's experiencing live art with someone that you know and other people in the audience that you don't know and really experiencing that moment together that a lot of people are missing," said Pereira.
Americana musician Oliver Wood kicks off several weeks of planned performances at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Many on the schedule, Pereira says, had been scheduled with Virginia Arts Festival in 2020 before pandemic restrictions shut live performances down.
"We were able to work with artists that are hungry to get back on the road. Artists haven't worked in 13 months either so it's nice to be able to have a safe space to present concerts again," she told News 3.
Tickets for the Bank Street Stage can be purchased at the Virginia Arts Festival website. Social distancing and masks are required at all performances along with temperature checks for everyone coming into the venue.
"You can purchase a pod and so the number that's in your party will be placed into that pod and you'll be socially distant from everyone around you," said Pereira.
Later performances this week include percussionist Zakir Hussain on April 13 and a performance by the Virginia Stage Company and Norfolk State University Theatre Company from April 14-25.
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