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Originally Posted by
buffo
Hey everyone!
At the close of SELEM 13 (just a few weeks ago) we discussed the dates for SELEM 14 next year. At that time we had settled on Tuesday, August 4th, 2020 through Sunday, August 9th, 2020. However, this creates a bit of a problem.
For the past 3 years we have been performing a live laser show to accompany the Western Piedmont Symphony Orchestra as they put on a free outdoor concert for the town of Newton on Sunday evening after SELEM load-out is completed. This concert is one of the main events that kick-off the week-long Soldier's Reunion Festival for the town of Newton, NC. The festival is timed each year to coincide with the 3rd Thursday in August. That's the day of the big parade, which concludes the festival. The Sunday prior to parade day is when the festival kicks off with the car show, the food trucks, and various live entertainment during the day, which leads to the "cruising" of all the classic cars and finally to the outdoor concert with the Symphony Orchestra Sunday night.
Here's where the problem comes in. If we stick with the dates above (August 4th - 9th), we will end up being a week early and thus we will miss the Soldier's Reunion Festival completely. That means no outdoor concert Sunday night after SELEM ends, and thus no outdoor laser show either. For 2020 the Soldier's Reunion Festival will kick off on Sunday, August 16th, with the big parade happening on Thursday, August 20th. (Because August 20th will be the 3rd Thursday in August for the year 2020.)
So the Symphony will be planning their outdoor concert for Sunday, August 16th, 2020. If we want to continue to be a part of that concert, we would need to move SELEM forward one week. Thus, SELEM 2020 would need to start on Tuesday, August 11th and run through Sunday, August 16th.
Personally I don't mind moving the event forward. I think there is value in continuing the work we've done with the Symphony, and I also think a great deal of SELEM attendees enjoy seeing the show and even being a part of it. However, I realize that many people do not have much flexibility in their schedules, which is why I'm bringing this up now. I'd like to hear from everyone who has a stake in SELEM - big or small - before a decision is made. The last thing I want to do is move the event and make it difficult or impossible for people to attend.
Please post below with your thoughts on this.
Adam
PS: I should point out that the Soldier's Reunion Festival has been going on for 124 consecutive years and is one of the oldest recurring patriotic festivals in the USA. As such, there's no way the festival dates will change. There is a remote chance that we could badger the symphony to change the dates of their concert and just agree to not be part of the festival, but without the draw of the other festival kick-off events I think this would seriously hurt the attendance numbers. Plus it would be a real blow to the festival to lose the evening concert, and that could have lasting negative political consequences. I'd like to avoid that if at all possible.