2020 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival Cancels In-Person Performances

A Letter to Pittsburgh Regarding the 2020 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival

Dear friends,

I hope this letter finds you well.

Over the last month, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it across every sector. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has been forced to cancel or postpone more than 100 arts experiences, educational opportunities, and events in an effort to keep our guests, staff, volunteers, and artists healthy. It is with a heavy heart that we acknowledge that the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival is not immune to the challenges of gathering during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Festival, originally scheduled for June 5-14, 2020 throughout Point State Park, Gateway Center, and the Cultural District, will not take place physically this year.

Every performance cancellation, gallery closure, educational workshop delay, and arts event missed has come as a heartbreaking blow to the Trust and our community here in Pittsburgh, and foregoing this year's traditional presentation of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival is no exception. For 60 years, our multidisciplinary Festival has presented an array of music, dance, theater, literary arts, public art, gallery exhibitions, and more, completely free of charge and open to the public, as well as an Artist Market which provides a platform and exposure for more than 300 artists. As much as we want to gather 500,000 people to celebrate art in all its forms this June, the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic has made this physically impossible as we continue to prioritize safety of our city and our people.

I'd like to take this moment to remind you, as we've been saying around the Cultural Trust, this is just intermission. We are working diligently to not only bring you good news about what is to come this fall, but also building ways to stay virtually connected when we cannot gather physically. While nothing can ever replace the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, I am particularly excited to share how we plan to bring favorite pieces of the Festival experience to life online. Please continue to check back here and connect with the Cultural Trust on social media in coming weeks when we will begin to announce these exciting opportunities.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust extends its profound thanks to its Title Sponsor Dollar Bank and Supporting Sponsor Giant Eagle for their stalwart and generous support in the face of unprecedented circumstances. And to our many other generous and enthusiastic contributors, we look forward to providing you with many amazing opportunities as we move to a digital space in 2020 and plan for our on-site return in 2021.

I hope that you continue to stay safe and healthy, Pittsburgh. At this very moment, our team is curating an online experience in lieu of this year's in-person Festival, ensuring that we can gather virtually to share art - because art matters, and that's really the heart of our iconic, one-of-a-kind Festival. We wouldn't miss it for the world.

Love,

Sarah Aziz

Director of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

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