The Douglas N. Everett Arena will soon be reopening and hosting a couple of shows next weekend, followed by the return of ice rink operations in September.
The Everett Arena closed in March when COVID-19 started to surface. Most events from this season were cancelled, with only two rescheduling to later in the summer. With other businesses in New Hampshire reopening, the arena started the process to safely reopen too, in accordance with all CDC, State of New Hampshire, and City of Concord guidelines.
The first show to be held will be the Little Giant Comics “Old School” Comic Show on Saturday, August 22 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The event will feature a variety of old school comic books, original comic art, and comic book artists. Admission will be $15 at the door, or purchase VIP passes on Little Giant Comics’ website for $25 for special goodies and to enter the event an hour early.
Then on Sunday, August 23 will be Bridal Bargain Day from Noon to 3 p.m., hosted by New England Premier Events. The event will include discounts on wedding dresses, décor, paper goods, jewelry, and other wedding related items. Admission will be $15 at the door, or purchase tickets on Eventbrite for $10 General Admission and $20 Early Bird Admission (11 a.m. entry).
“We have been closely monitoring when we should reopen and we’re excited to finally do so,” stated Jeff Bardwell, Arena & Properties Manager. “Some things may be a little different than what people are used to, but we are prepared to provide a safe space for the community to enjoy a couple of shows.”
Special precautions will be taken in the interest of public safety, including: operating at less than 50% occupancy, requiring the use of masks or facial coverings upon entering the building, guests completing a risk screening, practicing social distancing with floor markings and modified event layouts, providing hand sanitizing stations throughout the facility, increasing cleaning and disinfection, improving the ventilation and air quality with MERV 13 filtration and increased outdoor air circulation (based on recommendations from the CDC and American Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigeration Engineers), and also closing the front entrance to improve traffic flow by utilizing only the side door to enter and exit the building.
“We ask the community to please follow our new guidelines so that we can keep all guests, vendors, and employees safe,” said Bardwell. “We want to provide some much-needed local entertainment while keeping public safety as the first priority.”
The arena will be converted back to ice rink operations after the shows and starting back up on September 8. Safety precautions will still be in place at the arena with possible modifications for the ice season. More information will be released soon.
Find more information about upcoming events and the ice season at www.concordnh.gov/arena.
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