Thinking outside the box is becoming a way of life for businesses and organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic and that's precisely what Rosebud Theatre is doing to provide live concert entertainment this month.  

The theatre is located in the tiny community of Rosebud, about 50 minutes east of Airdrie.  The Rosebud Theatre is described as "Alberta's premiere destination for live theatre and delicious food."  COVID-19 has forced many changes in 2020 including the cancellation of three of the five shows the theatre would typically have in a season.

"One of the ways we've tried to keep some art going is we run a weekly Facebook Live stream concert series called the Homestage Tour," says Lauren Hamm, Rosebud's Social Media Marketer.  "So we have artists with Rosebud and connected with Rosebud Theatre perform concerts every week, and then these festivals."

"These festivals," involve the outside the box thinking.  Hamm says they started performing outdoor concerts in July with members of the Edmonton Symphony.  Every weekend for the remainder of August they'll be presenting an Outdoor Music Concert series with artists and folk musicians that have previously performed at Rosebud.  

"Because we can only have a limited number of people in our green space, we've put together the green space so there are six feet apart squares that are socially distanced and we have arrows directing traffic and we have volunteers in masks helping people get to their seats and making sure everyone is physically distancing and able to enjoy the concert in a safe way."

Hamm explains there are 25 squares with a maximum of four people per square.  The Rosebud Cafe also has a  sightline to the stage with six tables that are also available for theatre-goers.  

Seating in the green space is $25 per ticket while seating in the cafe is $20 per ticket as it offers a bit less visibility.

Hamm says, with people searching for ways to entertain themselves during the pandemic, response to live events at Rosebud has been excellent.  "Our first four concerts in July were sold out.  We were turning people away at the door which was really exciting for us and great for the artists as well.  It's so fun to get to perform again to a live audience when you've had such a long drought.  These concerts are filling up."

Saturday, August 22nd, folk and roots musician John Wort Hannam will perform concerts at 1:00 and 4:00 pm.  On both Saturday, August 29th and Sunday, August 30th, the duo Lewis and Royal, who perform blues, bluegrass and old-time rock and roll will hit the stage at 4:00 pm each afternoon.

Anyone wanting tickets for the Outdoor Summer Music Concert series must phone to book them.  "Because of COVID protocols, we can't actually sell tickets online for these because we want to have a conversation with every guest who calls in so ticket sales are call-in only.  The phone number for that is 1-800-267-7553."