Rock & Rails on hold

The popular Niwot summer concert series, Rock & Rails, remains on hold, according to co-managers Dan Hawk, Vicki Maurer and Biff Warren. An amended state-wide public health order was issued June 18, 2020, allowing outdoor events with up to 175 participants, subject to other regulations, which were issued in a separate order, entitled Guidance for Outdoor Events.

Warren said that although Whistle Stop Park, at over three-quarters of an acre, is large enough to accommodate an event with up to 175 participants, it is not practical to conduct the concert series with such a limited audience.

"We normally have 500 to 1,000 people at the concerts," Warren said. "We don't sell tickets, so we would have to drastically curtail the number of people who could attend, and change the way we operate to be in compliance. In addition, the regulations do not allow use of a dance floor, food vendors would be very limited in how they could operate, and the enforcement requirements are beyond our capabilities."

Other restrictions would require organizers to collect contact information from everyone attending the concerts, a process which is time-consuming and difficult to do with volunteers. "Several of our regular volunteers and some of our paid staff have indicated they are not comfortable working a concert at this time," Warren explained.

The June concerts were postponed and Warren indicated that the July concerts would also be postponed. Until gathering restrictions are modified to allow up to 500 persons to attend an event, Rock & Rails will not be held, Warren explained. "We're not ready to cancel the entire season yet, but we won't be able hold the July concerts we had scheduled," he said.

If restrictions are lifted in August or September, the concert series could resume.

Editor's Note: The complete final sentence of this article is missing from the June 24 PDF edition.