Live music is making a comeback to Wellington County Museum and Archives (WCMA) after a hiatus due to COVID.
Every Thursday night for five weeks, live music will be held at the heritage barn on the WCMA grounds.
WCMA programme assistant Emily Foster said this event would normally run each summer but they were unable to host it last year.
“It’s so fantastic to be able to have people back,” Foster said. “It is usually something that we’ve done every year, so to be able to pick it up again and do it again, it’s really great.”
She said she felt these kinds of events are important for the community to bring a sense of normalcy and give an enjoyable experience.
It also supports local musicians and artists who have had little chance to perform for a crowd. Foster said they are encouraging support for local restaurants too.
“This year we’ve been partnering with local restaurants as well by offering takeout boxes of food,” Foster said. “So we’re supporting those local businesses in the area, especially after the pandemic, with it being a tough time maybe for some of them.”
Each week will feature a different restaurant and musician.
The inaugural week kicked-off with pizza from Elora’s La Fontana and music from duo Shannon Kingsbury and Lucas Tensen, a harp playing vocalist and multi-instrumentalist respectively.
They played to a crowd of about 25 people, with the performance moved inside the heritage barn due to possible inclement weather. Normally they would play in the paddock beside the barn.
Kingsbury said she was very grateful to be able to play live music for an audience.
“So happy to be here with you, very very happy,” Kingsbury told the crowd. “It’s nice to be back after a long hiatus of live music.”
The crowd too was pleased to experience live music, even requesting an encore at the end of the duo’s performance.
The concert series will run each Thursday until Aug. 12 and tickets can be purchased here.
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