This update was sent to the House of Pacific Realtions by Michael Warburton, Director, Parkwide Communications, Balboa Park Cultural Partnership. The letter was authored by Michael Warburton Director, Parkwide Communications.
[SDHPRDelegates] Update on Balboa Park Activities
Hello, group!
The biggest news is obvious - we have gone through a huge wave of reopen, only to return to closure status for many organizations.
The State and County has mandated the closure of indoor museums, as well as indoor dining at restaurants, effective 12:01 am this morning. The mandate did not close down indoor retail operations. And although Zoos were on the closure list, the San Diego Zoo experience is mostly outdoors, and is allowed to operate those areas. The closure is a minimum of 3 weeks; the soonest venues could reopen would be the week of July 27th. The worst-case scenario is if COVID case numbers do not stabilize and reduce, and the closure is extended.
The Central Mesa will continue to stay open to visitors and the parking lots will remain open, and the Visitors Center staff and volunteers will continue to provide visitor information and services.
In other news:
-Construction projects continue in the park: Palisades plaza, House of Pacific Relations cottages, Mingei renovation, Bea Evenson Fountain repairs, the deck around the Moreton Bay fig, etc. Several of these should wrap up soon, and since many are outdoors, will be available for visitors to enjoy.
-A cooperative campaign with SDTA, BPCP, and media partners COX, KPBS, and SD Magazine that was set to launch in March was rescheduled, however due to the reclosures it will be rescheduled again. The campaign is to highlight Balboa Park to local audiences.
-Explorer Pass sales returned for a few days, however with venue closures the pass sales have been suspended again.
-There are a limited number of Summer Camps operating with a majority being online; the Zoo is operating in-person camps, and the Fleet is providing a mix of both online and in-person camps.
-There continues to be COVID support web pages linked from the notification bar at the top of the balboapark.org site; these pages offer a LiveChat for questions, updates on what is open, and a calendar that is now going to show digital programming/content. If you have questions about this, email me under separate cover.
-The July 2nd Balboa Park Committee was canceled.
-There have been a number of surveys and studies involving cultural organizations and the COVID impact. Culture Track released the one attached today, and it is chock full of insights.
Let's look ahead, and hopefully the virus will calm down and we can re-reopen venues once again at the end of the month!
Thank you everyone and be well.
Mike
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Michael Warburton, Director
Parkwide Communications
Balboa Park Cultural Partnership
