Simsbury Meadows summer lineup opening with benefit concert hosted by new restaurant
The Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center will hold its first live musical concert of the year on May 28, with a performance by the Fabulous Equinox Orchestra. The show is sponsored by Roux, a Cajun eatery opening on May 29 in town.
The Savannah, Georgia-based Big Band also will perform the next day at the jazz brunch on the opening of the restaurant, which is under construction at 10 Wilcox St. They also will perform in a parade at the restaurant’s ribbon cutting.
Other live performances scheduled at Simsbury Meadows, at 22 Iron Horse Boulevard, include a Memorial Day concert on May 31; Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s Talcott Mountain Music Festival on all five Fridays in July; a comedy series on the first three Wednesdays in July; a Connecticut musicians’ showcase the first three Wednesdays in August; performances by the U.S. Coast Guard Band on July 11, Aug. 29 and Sept. 12; and a show by Hootie and the Blowfish alum Darius Rucker on Aug. 28.
Until state guidelines loosen up regarding venue capacity and social distancing, ticketholders will sit in pre-drawn pods on the lawn, up to four people per pod. The capacity for each show is 3,500, which is 35% of the capacity of the venue.
May 28 show
For the May 28 show, admission is $60 per person. To buy tickets, visit rouxct.com/ray-of-hope. Ticket holders should bring folding chairs.
Steph Civitello, owner and chef at Roux, said that proceeds from the Fabulous Equinox Orchestra’s “Ray of Hope” concert will benefit the West Hartford-based Aurora Women and Girls Foundation and Simsbury Horticulture Society.
Aurora is a research and grantmaking foundation that focuses on community initiatives and nonprofits that benefit women and girls. It has funded, among other organizations, the YWCA Career Women Program, the Launch Your Leadership Journey program at Tunxis and Asnuntuck community colleges, Interval House, Dignity Grows, Malta House of Care and Village for Families and Children.
The show starts at 7 p.m. and the gates open at 5:30 p.m. Civitello said Roux will take advance orders for meals to be picked up at the show, primarily po’boy sandwiches, red beans and rice and jambalaya. Civitello is recruiting other area restaurants to offer meals on site, too.
“Two months ago, when we started talking about this, the maximum capacity was 500. Now it’s 3,500. It was going to be just us. But we’re hoping other different restaurants jump in there,” Civitello said.
Meals can be ordered at rouxct.com. Potential concert sponsors and restaurateurs who want to offer meals on-site can email steph@rouxct.com.
Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.
