Folsom Lake College’s Harris Center expects coronavirus closure to last another year
.jpg "The Harris Center for the Arts will temporarily close July 1, canceling all remaining events. Harris Center and Folsom Lake College leaders say they expect the closure to last more than a year.")
Folsom Lake College’s modern three-stage theater complex, the Harris Center for the Arts, announced Wednesday that it expects to stay closed through at least July 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact.
In a statement to its website signed by facility, Folsom Lake College and Los Rios Community College District leaders said the Harris Center will “temporarily cease all operations” beginning July 1. Its calendar of events will be wiped out, with all events canceled rather than postponed.
There is no set timetable for reopening, but the announcement says the closure is expected to “last at least a year” while citing “great uncertainty on when indoor public events can safely resume” following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our venue is smaller than others in our region and the budgetary impacts of this crisis have been severe, making it challenging to sustain operations and implement social distancing protocols in the current environment,” the letter explained.
The theater complex, formerly known as Three Stages, had effectively been shut down since March as COVID-19 restrictions at the state and Sacramento County levels prohibited large gatherings. The Harris Center started by scratching its March schedule of events one week before Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide stay-at-home order was issued, and in late April announced that all events scheduled through July 2020 would be either canceled or rescheduled.
Now, all remaining scheduled events at the venue have been canceled, according to Wednesday’s announcement, and refunds for tickets already purchased will be issued automatically.
“These are challenging times, and we appreciate the patience and understanding of everyone in the Harris Center community as we work to address and respond to these circumstances beyond our control,” the letter by Harris Center executive director Davie Pier, Folsom Lake College President Whitney Yamamura and Los Rios Chancellor Brian King concludes. “We are looking forward to the day when we can see you in our audience once again.”
A $50 million project, the Harris Center first opened in 2011. The 80,000-square-foot complex includes an 850-seat main theater and two smaller stages seating 200 and 100 guests, as well as an on-site recording studio and a visual art gallery. The venue host music and theater productions that include both nationwide tours and local productions by Folsom Lake College students.
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 1:49 PM.
