Greetings, sorely missed Seaprog community!
We know we’ve been remiss in updating our status, basically because there was so little to report during the long downtime, but now that hope rises anew, we’re happy to reconnect with an update.
Note that we did make an attempt earlier this year to ‘stage’ a slimmed-down Seaprog in streaming format, but we were unable to work out a favorable arrangement with the host venue. However, in retrospect it’s no great loss now that live performances are resuming, since we greatly prefer the latter to the insular streaming format anyway.
What is a great loss is the closure of the historic Columbia City Theater, our beloved partner venue from the very start of the Seaprog venture, as a consequence of pandemic-related woes. We owe the CCT staff eternal gratitude for their stalwart support and generosity over the years, and hope they find fulfillment elsewhere — and that the CCT will eventually be resurrected. But for now, the CCT’s demise leaves Seaprog essentially homeless until/unless we can find another suitable venue to partner with — one that will allow the festival to retain the qualities that set it apart and make it as much a social as musical event. We have a few candidates but would love to hear any ideas our audience might have for new venue options — suggestions welcomed!
With half of 2021 already behind us, the logistical challenges of mounting a full-scale festival this year are frankly beyond us, but we’re keen on stepping back into the water with a smaller-scale ‘Seaprog presents’ event or two later this year, or possibly a scaled-down pilot event at a prospective host venue. We’ll surely keep folks updated on progress. We also want to profusely thank those of you who made generous donations to help keep Seaprog afloat; those who kindly agreed to let their 2019 ticket purchases count toward a future event; and our fiscal sponsors Shunpike and 4 Culture for hanging in there with us and helping to offset some pandemic-related losses.
So looking forward to seeing you all again as soon as we can regain our footing!
— The Central Committee