In the wake of Governor Gavin Newsom’s
state-wide recommendation to cancel gatherings of 250 people or more, events
and organizations across Santa Barbara County have fallen like dominoes
throughout the day — the count is so far more than 40.
Metropolitan Theatres is now limiting attendance at Santa
Barbara movie theaters to no more than 100 viewers per screen as part of the
social-distancing strategy adopted in response to the coronavirus outbreak. In
addition, company employees are cleaning more frequently. Customers who’ve
signed up for premium plans allowing free refills of soda and popcorn will now
get new cups; there will be no refilling of the old ones. This time of year has
traditionally been a slow time for Hollywood releases, and the studios have
announced they will be slowing it down even further.
As far as concerts at the Arlington Theatre, Metropolitan is
leaving any social distancing policy up to the concert promoters.
The first major casualty for Earl Warren Showgrounds was
this weekend’s Santa Barbara International Orchid Show, always a major
production requiring more than a week of prep time. All
public events at the Showgrounds are canceled through March 31. For Earl
Warren Showgrounds, the loss of revenue will prove problematic in the extreme
as the facility has just taken out a line of credit to begin addressing years
of deferred maintenance. The fate of the annual Expo & Fair at the Showgrounds
remains uncertain as it’s not scheduled until the end of April. Either way, the
situation is dire enough that the Showgrounds’ board has scheduled an emergency
meeting to discuss the public health risk posed by COVID-19.
In downtown Santa Barbara, the public library
canceled all public events systemwide through April 30, and UCSB’s Economic
Forecast Project scheduled for May 7 at the Granada Theatre is canceled. All
other Granada events have likewise been nixed until the end of March.
All Lobero Theatre performances through March 31
are postponed, as well as all UCSB Arts & Lectures events through April 26.
“We know this unprecedented action will be
disappointing to our audiences and artists, as it is to us,” said Caitlin O’Hara, publicist for Arts & Lectures. “However, the well-being of our students,
patrons, artists, staff members and community is paramount during this time. We
hope these actions will make a meaningful difference as we all face this
difficult situation together.”
For the full list of events and cancellations,
see the events page here.
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