We at the Levitt Foundation hope this finds you safe and well. Our top priority is ensuring the health and well-being of the entire Levitt community, including Levitt Foundation staff (who are working from home – hello videochat!), our Friends of Levitt partners, Levitt AMP grantees, and the hundreds of thousands of friends, families, neighbors, artists, volunteers, community partners, vendors, sponsors and supporters who bring the Levitt program to life every year.
People are at the heart of Levitt’s mission: bringing people together through the power of free, live music. At a time when we’d normally be marking our calendars for upcoming Levitt concerts and readying our picnic baskets and lawn chairs, instead we’re practicing social distancing and avoiding community gathering spaces. While the coming weeks and months remain uncertain, the Levitt network remains strong and looks towards a future of continued community through music.
The Levitt Foundation has confirmed our commitment to Friends of Levitt nonprofit partners and Levitt AMP grantees, pledging our support regardless of how, or whether, their 2020 Levitt concert series takes place. In the event of any cancellations, the Levitt Foundation will support each of our Levitt venue partners and Levitt AMP grantees in their community-building efforts during this challenging time. For the most up-to-date information regarding the status of the Levitt concert series in your community, please visit the website and social media of your community’s Levitt venue or Levitt AMP concert series.
While we all love spending our summer evenings enjoying free music under the stars, the decision regarding each local concert series may be out of the Levitt venue’s and concert site’s control—should local, state or the federal government mandate the prohibition of public gatherings continue throughout the upcoming months. Following guidance from their local public health authority, Levitt venues and concert sites may need to cancel one or several Levitt concerts. If a Levitt concert, series of concerts, or the entire series is cancelled in your community, your Levitt venue or local Levitt AMP nonprofit will make the announcement.
As so many can attest, the COVID-19 pandemic is stressful for arts & culture organizations, with many facing uncertain futures in the wake of closures and event cancellations. For Levitt venues and Levitt AMP concert sites, their concert series involves months of planning, and concert cancellations and postponements hurt each nonprofit organization financially. Given these unprecedented times, we hope local funders, sponsors and individuals will continue to rally behind their community’s Friends of Levitt and Levitt AMP nonprofits and show their support for these organizations who work tirelessly year-round to create joyful, welcoming and high-quality arts experiences for everyone.
We look forward to the time when we can once again gather as communities, especially on Levitt lawns, to celebrate the power of free, live music—building community through music.