TEXARKANA, Texas - The Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council has postponed "The Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular" until the fall, the arts agency's top official said Wednesday.
Brian Goesl, executive director at TRAHC, said the Perot Theatre show scheduled for July 11 will be moved because TRAHC essentially cannot guarantee the safety of patrons at the music and laser show, even with the planned social distancing measures.
"We're postponing it until the fall. We don't have an exact date yet because they haven't sent me those available dates, but the contract that we have with 'Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular' is still in effect. We're just postponing it," Goesl said. "The reason really is the extreme increase in COVID-19 cases that Texarkana and our region are experiencing, especially the last week. And the anticipated number of increased cases that we'll have following the 4th of July weekend coming up."
Goesl said even with social distancing enforced - including the availability of hand sanitizing stations, the suggestion that patrons wear masks and more - safety is still an issue.
"People are not going to wear masks and people are not going to social distance. We cannot guarantee that people are not going to be exposed to the virus in an enclosed environment," Goesl said. "Being outside is one thing, but being in an enclosed building for two hours is a little bit of a different situation."
He anticipates they'd meet the 400-seat Perot capacity that's now in place during this week. Looking at those numbers, he said, a certain percentage of patrons would likely be asymptomatic carriers of the virus even if they hadn't been tested.
"And if they're not going to wear a mask, we cannot in due conscience allow our other audience members, our crew, our staff, the 'Pink Floyd' staff to be exposed to that. We just can't do that at this time. It just makes more sense to postpone it to the fall," Goesl said.
People who've purchased tickets will receive a full refund, he said, over the next couple of weeks. If anyone has questions, they can call the Perot Theatre box office at 903-792-4992.
Goesl said discussions had been ongoing with the city of Texarkana, Texas, about this situation. He said they hoped COVID would "drop back" following the reopenings in May.
"Since Memorial Day it's done exactly the opposite," Goesl said, noting they wish they could host the show now.
"We didn't want to do it. We wanted to hang on and we wanted to be able to have this concert because people want to get out, we know that," he said. However with the virus growing and potential exposure, it's not a positive thing to host this show now.
Goesl said they've discussed a mask requirement rather than a suggestion.
"But in the state of Texas we can't really require that as such. It's not really a law at this point that's enforceable. We can say that we ask you not to do that but it's not a law. The governor has not made it a law," Goesl said.
TRAHC will announce the new date as soon as it's decided. Goesl said TRAHC is looking at the possibility of offering virtual concerts for members and the general public.
"We're looking at making those offerings available to our membership as well as the general public," Goesl said. Such a virtual concert would be online and possibly with a limited number of people in the theater experiencing a VIP-style concert.
(For more information, contact the Perot Theatre box office at 903-792-4992.)
