Interlochen Center for the Arts Cancels Summer Arts Festival Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Proceeds from ticket sales fund scholarships for deserving young artists to attend Interlochen Arts Camp and Interlochen Arts Academy; patrons who planned to buy tickets are encouraged to make a gift to the Interlochen Annual Fund.
Interlochen Center for the Arts has announced the cancelation of the 2020 Interlochen Arts Festival, which was scheduled to take place from June 20 to August 22.
“After careful monitoring of the COVID-19 pandemic and consultation with public health experts, our board of trustees, arts leaders, and many others, we have made the difficult decision to cancel our Interlochen Arts Festival,” Interlochen Center for the Arts President Trey Devey said today. “We take this action with the health and safety of our community as our highest priority.”
A much-anticipated northern Michigan tradition, the Interlochen Arts Festival brings top-tier musicians, actors, comedians, dancers, authors, and more to the wooded campus of Interlochen Center for the Arts for a three-month celebration of art. Recent guest artists include country music superstar Reba McEntire, comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short, Motown diva Diana Ross, country trio Lady Antebellum, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, among many others. The Festival also includes concerts, plays, and musicals by Interlochen Arts Camp’s top ensembles, including the World Youth Symphony Orchestra. Since 2017, the Interlochen Shakespeare Festival has enhanced the season with professional theatre.
In recent years, the Arts Festival has attracted audiences of more than 45,000 patrons annually, making it one of the largest arts festivals in the northern Michigan region. It is primarily hosted at Kresge Auditorium, a 4,000-seat outdoor venue on the shores of scenic Green Lake.
Proceeds from ticket sales for Interlochen performances fund scholarships for deserving young artists from around the world to attend Interlochen Arts Camp and Interlochen Arts Academy. Last summer’s Interlochen Arts Festival raised more than $750,000 in need-based scholarships.
Patrons who planned to buy tickets for the Interlochen summer line-up this year are encouraged to turn those dollars into a gift to the Interlochen Annual Fund.
“This crisis has increased the financial need of our students, who are the very heart of Interlochen’s mission,” Devey said. “Our patrons can support Interlochen through these unprecedented times and provide much-needed scholarships for the next generation of artists and creative changemakers.”
Interlochen also recently announced that its world-renowned Arts Camp will transition to virtual instruction this summer with the newly launched Interlochen Online, with programs in acting, musical theatre, theatre design and production, creative writing, visual arts, dance, filmmaking, classical music performance and composition, music production and engineering, songwriting, jazz performance and improvisation, and general arts for students in grades 2-12.
Interlochen Online will include numerous live virtual performances and events that will be made available to the public, including the “Collage” student showcase on July 18 and the final camp performance, “Les Préludes,” on July 19. More details will be available soon.
To make a gift to the Interlochen Annual Fund, visit interlochen.org/give or call 231.276.7623
About Interlochen Center for the Arts
A global destination for artists and arts enthusiasts, Interlochen Center for the Arts comprises Interlochen Arts Camp, a world-class multidisciplinary summer arts program; Interlochen Arts Academy, the nation’s premier fine arts boarding high school; Interlochen Presents, a producer of more than 600 annual performances by celebrated guest artists, Interlochen students, and faculty; Interlochen Public Radio, two listener-supported, 24-hour public radio stations (classical music and news); and Interlochen College of Creative Arts, a convener for lifelong arts education. Since 1928, Interlochen has served a mission to ignite and propel a lifelong passion for the arts. To learn more, visit interlochen.org.
