HAMPTON – Shows on the Seashell Stage have been ruled out by Hampton Beach officials for the rest of the summer due to concerns for the spread of COVID-19.
The Hampton Beach Talent Show’s annual singing contest was set to take place on the stage at the last weekend of August, while the Boston Circus Guild was scheduled for a performance Labor Day Weekend. Both shows were canceled in the last week because the state’s social distancing guidelines for concerts would be too difficult to maintain, according to Hampton Beach Village District Commissioner Chuck Rage.
State guidelines for concerts would require audience members to sit in closed off benches in front of the stage so they could be monitored for social distancing, according to Co-Marketing Director Lisa Martineau. Rage said benches would have to be disinfected every time someone got up to walk away, and that people would be refused seating until the spot was sprayed and wiped.
"It would be nearly impossible to have that," said Martineau, who said the Village District is understaffed as it is.
Commissioners consulted New Hampshire State Parks Director Phil Bryce and Hampton’s police and fire chiefs as they considered future Seashell Stage shows, the stage being a facility of Hampton Beach State Park. Rage said Boston Circus Guild organizers were also hesitant to put on the show because of their own concern for exposure to COVID-19.
"Some of the performers were reluctant," said Rage. "We all decided it wasn’t the year to do it."
The pandemic has also seen the cancellation of the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival, Children’s Festival and weekly fireworks due to social distancing concerns. State officials said this week the average number of new COVID-19 cases in New Hampshire has risen to about 30 per day, though State Epidemiologist Ben Chan said Tuesday in a press conference the increase is not believed to be a "surge."
The Village District is still planning to hold its annual Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Classic, postponed from June to Labor Day Weekend. Commissioner Bob Ladd said the Boston Circus Guild’s separate fire show scheduled for later in September on the sand could still go on as scheduled, though he said whether that show is safe is still being considered.
"Of course we would like to put on the performance," said Ladd, "But against all that is the risk of exposing people to the virus."
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August 06, 2020 at 09:35PM
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