Empty chairs, stage demonstrate problems for live-events industry
Those strolling through Tom Lee Park might have wondered who would be hosting the fancy outdoor event. Forty-eight tables with centerpieces and table clothes, 384 seats, two bars and a stage dotted the vast, riverside lawn Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 15.
The answer: No one.
Paper labels were affixed to the backs of empty chairs placed around the tables in the park. Each table represented 250,000 workers affected by COVID-19. And each label identified a type of job that has been lost to the cancellations.