Page 38 - BusinessWest September 14 2020

Culture Shock
Visitor Economy Takes a Hit in the Berkshires
FBy Joseph Bednar
or the folks at Berkshire Theatre Group,
things were going according to plan.
A three-year sustainability plan, to be
specific, developed back in 2018, said Nick Pale- ologos, the organization’s executive director.
“We had a checklist of things we needed to do in addition to putting on a decent artistic season in 2019, and we hit a lot of goals. As we hit 2020, we had just two or three outstanding boxes left unchecked, when all of a sudden, in mid-March, our world was turned upside down.”
Versions of that story have been told countless times not only in Massachusetts, but around the country and the world. But for the performing arts, it’s been a particularly tough stretch.
“Starting around St. Patrick’s Day, all we
were doing was canceling shows and returning money; we were really in a kind of freefall,” Pale- ologos continued. “What initially saved us in the short term, and bought us time to figure out how to reimagine our 2020 season, was the Paycheck Protection Program. That was a lifeline, and it accomplished exactly what it was supposed to do — it allowed us to stay in business for those cru- cial eight weeks in the spring.”
The 2020 season — the BTG was planning eight shows in its three indoor spaces in Stock- bridge and Pittsfield — was certainly about to change. “All of a sudden, we had no idea whether
we’d be allowed to perform at all,” he noted.
The journey that followed, culminating in live, outdoor performances of Godspell in August and
September (more on that later), was a remark- able one, but it’s hardly the robust
schedule the venerable company
normally puts on. Meanwhile, performing-arts destinations
like Jacob’s Pillow and Tangle- wood canceled their live slates completely.
It’s a story that affects more than arts patrons; it impacts no less than the entire Berkshires economy, which is so intertwined with, and dependent on, culture and tourism.
factor in business owners wanting to set up shop here.
“We were pretty heavily involved in the state’s reopening process — we played a key role in get-
“The visitor economy is defi-
nitely a backbone sector for us; it supports a tre- mendous amount of dollars in the region,” said Jonathan Butler, president and CEO of 1Berk- shire, the multi-faceted agency that focuses on tourism, economic development, and business retention in Massachusetts’ westernmost county.
In fact, he noted, visitor dollars spent in the region over the years are approaching the $1 bil- lion mark — and the presence of cultural attrac- tions and other tourist destinations, from res- taurants to ski resorts, is a major quality-of-life
ting some of the museums open and fleshing out guidelines for hotels and restaurants,” But- ler told BusinessWest, while 1Berkshire’s website has become an oft-updated clearinghouse of information on the region and its public-health response to COVID-19.
Due to belt-tightening everywhere, including among its strategic partners, 1Berkshire hasn’t operated with the same marketing budget it normally would. “But we have been able to raise enough money to do some things, and we’ve piv-
NICK PALEOLOGOS
“We hit 2020, we had just two or three outstanding boxes left unchecked, when all of a sudden, in mid-March, our world was turned upside down.”
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