As you will imagine, we at Basilica have been closely monitoring developments and updates around the spread of COVID-19. As a space for bringing people together, the safety and wellbeing of both our local and global communities are always at the forefront of our decision-making.

We have been paying close attention to current CDC and WHO guidelines. In light of these, and following Governor Cuomo’s ban on large gatherings through mid-May, we are postponing our upcoming spring programs, beginning with BASILICA GREEN, 24-HOUR DRONE and BASILICA FARM & FLEA SPRING MARKET. We will continue to monitor conditions and review our plans for events beyond mid-May as the situation progresses.

We aim to reschedule all postponed programs where possible, and will send further updates regarding new program dates as we have them. In the case of 24-HOUR DRONE, for which advance tickets have been sold, we will be contacting ticket-holders directly regarding their options for exchanging, refunding, or converting their tickets to a tax deductible contribution to Basilica’s year-round non-profit arts programming, as well as for tuning into our remote edition!

2020 is our 10 year anniversary, and we were getting ready to kick off a major celebration of our anchor programs, and a transformative season, with an expanded ecological mission and exciting new partnerships and programs in sustainability. Since, for now, we are no longer able to do that in-person, we will be getting creative with our desire to stay connected, and to reflect on our last decade. We are working on plans to bring you remote, streamed versions of some of our programs, starting with our beloved 24-HOUR DRONE.

We look forward to sharing some of our archives on our social media platforms, and staying connected in the hope of continuing to inspire and engage us all during these unprecedented times.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Basilica is a non-profit. We deliver big dreams with a tiny and dedicated team. The majority of our revenue comes directly from event attendance. The postponement of our upcoming programs makes our ability to recover and continue to operate extremely uncertain. If you are able, please consider supporting us during this time. Here are some ways you can help:

Exchange a purchased ticket for credit towards a future event
Make a tax deductible donation – every dollar counts
Become a Basilica member
Purchase Basilica merchandise

Basilica was built on our commitment to the transformative power of art and music and our fundamental belief in collective, in-person experiences. However, we cannot express enough how absolutely essential it is to act as a community and practice strong social distancing in the weeks ahead to curb the additional spread of the virus. We’re optimistic about the strength of our community, and hope to be able to resume our planned schedule as soon as possible.

In the meantime, we wish our community and beyond all the best, and hope that you are able to stay healthy and safe during this time. For more information on what you can do to help protect your community and prevent the further spread of COVID-19, please see the CDC resources available here.

MAY THE DRONE GO ON

For our last six years, 24-HOUR DRONE has kicked our Basilica season into bloom, and been a sacred wake-up call for our building in her winter hibernation. In our 10 year anniversary season, for our spirits and our creative community, we are committed to keeping 24-HOUR DRONE alight, and to activating those 24 HOURS of sound in a new world way. While we try to reschedule the main event, we will be working in partnership with our local and global partners, from Le Guess Who? in the Netherlands, to Lumen Project in Sweden, to WGXC/Wave Farm right here in the Hudson Valley, to devise new ways to connect in our current climate. In the spirit of creating music without borders, we are planning to host remote live streams of international DRONES, plus broadcasts from our hundreds of hours of archived past DRONES. May we keep the sound alive, and let it be our solace during our communal isolation.