JACKSONVILLE, Ore. – Britt Music and Art Festival outdoor performances will take place as-is for the time being, even as smoke moves into the Rogue Valley.
Last year, smoke from wildfires pushed the air quality in the Rogue Valley to “very unhealthy” levels. At the time, the conditions prompted the Britt Festival to move the location of some outdoor orchestra concerts to an indoor venue at North Medford High School.
Nearing the end of the 2018 season, several concerts were canceled due to limitations with the indoor venue.
This year, skies were clear up until July 25, when smoke from the Milepost 97 Fire south of Canyonville moved into the Rogue Valley. As of 11:00 Friday, air quality in the Medford area was classified as “unhealthy” by the Department of Environmental Quality.
Britt has a series of outdoor performances scheduled for the weekend and beyond. For the time being, according to a Britt spokesperson NBC5 spoke with Friday morning, concerts will continue to take place outdoors at the Britt Performance Garden in Jacksonville.
According to the Britt Fest website, they have a contingency plan if air quality is deemed poor enough to move indoors. The website stated, “In the event that the Britt Festival Orchestra performances are moved to North Medford High school due to poor air quality, there will be three lines established for patrons: the 1st line will be for reserved seat holders and will be seated first, the 2nd line will be for paid lawn ticket holders and will be seated second, and the 3rd line will be for all complimentary ticket holders and will be seated on a first-come, first-serve basis. These lines will be processed in 15-minute intervals.”
For updates, ticket holders can contact Britt Fest at 1-800-882-7488.
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