Festive talk
How the Azalea Festival will be different Page 19
March 5 - 18, 2021 Vol. 22, No. 5
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Spain exiting
Retiring Habitat chief shares insights Page 11
Next phase
Autumn Hall grows Page 12
PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER
Index Banking & Finance .............................4-5 Health Care ........................................6-7 Economic Development.......................... 8 The List ............................................9, 15 In Profile...............................................11 Real Estate .................................... 12-13 Business of Life.............................. 18-19
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Looking at the future: Wearing a mask, Jacquelin Meade listens to presentations from fellow students in her organic chemistry senior seminar class taught by Wendy Strangman, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UNCW.
A YEAR LATER COVID CHANGED LIFE AS WE KNEW IT, AND THE ADAPTATIONS CONTINUE
BY JENNY CALLISON n addition to anything else that it has wrought, a year of COVID-19 has forced officials, business owners and just about everyone else to use their greatest creative powers and to remain flexible. In some cases, pandemic restrictions have spurred innovation. In other cases, entities are simply hoping that, as the virus becomes less of a threat, they can return to pre-COVID operations. But no one knows when that will be.
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For example, the city of Wilmington’s community services director said Greenfield Lake Amphitheater, shut down since last March, should be up and running again in a few months. In October, City Council awarded entertainment purveyor
Live Nation a contract to manage the venue. “As of now, Live Nation is planning concerts at normal capacity at both the Hugh Morton Amphitheater at Greenfield and North Waterfront Park beginning this summer,” Amy Beatty said. “Of course that is subject to change depending upon COVID conditions.” Live Nation representative DJ Lindfors was a bit more cautious in his assessment. “We’re certainly looking forward to the return of live music to the Greenfield Lake Amphitheater” and North Waterfront Park, he said. “Obviously, our plans are fluid as they relate to evolving COVID developments. We are closely monitoring
local regulations and when they allow for it, we’ll return to normal capacity.” Like the amphitheater, performance venues elsewhere stood vacant, with months of booked programming scuttled, while the area’s smaller special events spaces faced cancellations of weddings and other gatherings. The larger venues’ ability to open with limited capacity – even with recent easing on the numbers – doesn’t cover costs, say operators. It’s not just entertainment venues that are second-guessing. Public educational institutions have had to make a series of adjustments over the past 12 months. Both higher education campuses and K-12 classrooms have shifted their learning models, including developing several hybrid arrangements. Last month, the New Hanover County School board voted to let youngsters in kindergarten See YEAR, page 10