Bringing live music to seniors & supporting local musicians

City re-organizes popular summer concert series

NEWS RELEASE - Distributed July 23, 2020 11:00 AM

The City of Nanaimo has partnered with five local seniors residences, offering live performances of music from now until August of 2020. Understanding the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both the elderly population who have had their mobility limited and on local musicians whose livelihood has been impacted by venue closures and cancellations, the City’s Culture & Events team initiated this special program for 2020. The intention of this series is to serve audiences where they are, support local musicians and create uplifting and memorable experiences.

In past years, the City has organized the popular Summer Concerts in the Parks series at the Bowen Park Amphitheatre and Maffeo Sutton Park, attracting audiences of over 300 people. This summer, the concerts have been re-imagined to be delivered safely. Performances will be offered to small audiences of less than 50 people and held outdoors in the parking lots of the five participating senior’s residences with measures in place for physical distancing to keep everyone safe.

The series of concerts kicked off on July 22 with a performance by musicians from Vancouver Island Symphony at Origin at Longwood. The August lineup includes renowned roots artist, Gerry Barnum, at Chartwell Malaspina Care Residence, TerraZetto at Kiwanis Village, and pop/folk singer-songwriter, Trevor Price, at Nanaimo Seniors Village. The last concert of the series features Geoff and Trish Horrocks from the Nanaimo Fiddle Society who are the 2020 City of Nanaimo Honour in Culture award recipients. Concerts are by invite-only for residents, but a videographer will document the shows so that clips can be shared online with larger audiences.

“Our team seized this as an opportunity to create new partnerships, to collaborate with organizations like the Vancouver Island Symphony and to support musicians by hiring them and by connecting them with audiences," said Julie Bevan, Manager of Culture & Events, "We know that seniors have traditionally been a core audience for the City’s Concerts in the Park, and we thought it would be meaningful to take music to their doorsteps this year.”

To view highlights of the summer concert series and other initiatives to build community through arts and culture, follow us on Instagram: @culture_nanaimo. A video of the performances will also be shared on the City's Facebook page and website.

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