Carolina Theatre To Livestream Family Saturday Series Shows At No Cost

September 22, 2020 by Joe Student

DURHAM, NC — (September 22, 2020) — Recognizing that now more than ever the residents of the Triangle desire to experience quality performing arts in the safest way possible, the Carolina Theatre of Durham will make its entire 2020-21 Family Saturday Series (FSS) available virtually via livestream on YouTube at no cost to viewers.

The monthly series will launch with a performance by Americana duo Violet Bell on Saturday, November 7 at 11 a.m. and continue on various Saturdays of each month through May 1, when bluegrass musicians Charles Pettee will complete the season. All shows will stream at youtube.com/user/CarolinaTheatre.

A full schedule of the seven 2020-21 Family Saturday Series performances is included below and available at the venue’s website, carolinatheatre.org, where registrations for streams of the first two shows are being accepted now.

Throughout this season, Carolina Theatre of Durham will continue to adhere to all safety measures and procedures defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, as well as all standing orders from Governor Roy Cooper and Durham Mayor Steve Schewel. The Carolina Theatre will determine which of its performance spaces best fit the Family Saturday Series shows prior to the day of the scheduled performances.

The series is a component of the Carolina Theatre’s Department of Education & Community Engagement, led by Director of Education and Community Engagement Noel James, who also programs the nonprofit’s Arts Discovery Educational Series.

“I am delighted about the increase access to this fun filled family program which is needed more than ever to bring smiles to the whole family in the comfort of their homes,” James said.

The Family Saturday Series is entering its fourth year and maintains its commitment to presenting affordable, high quality, family-friendly art, potentially providing some guests with their first opportunity to see a performance at Durham’s historic showplace. Unfortunately, the closure of the venue due to the pandemic truncated the 19-20 season. The Carolina Theatre is pleased to make all of the shows in the series now available to all interested viewers.

A key component of the Family Saturday Series is the participation of local partner organizations who help make the community aware of the opportunity to engage in this exceptional entertainment. The participating partners, to date, are the City of Durham Neighborhood Improvement Services, Durham Children’s Initiative, Durham Children’s Partnership, El Centro Hispano, Inc., Emily Krzyzewski Center, Exchange Family Center and Families Moving Forward.

“We are excited to bring this extremely impactful program to the wider community at no cost. It has been difficult to see the theatre so dark over the past months, but the time has motivated us to figure out how to make programming accessible to the wider community,” Bethann West James, Interim President & CEO of the Carolina Theatre said. “Noel has done the tireless work with funders and artists to re-design this program for everyone to enjoy. My hope is that our community will support this program.”

Support from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Duke Energy Foundation, Duke Health, Fifth Third Bank and Susan and Michael Hershfield makes the Family Saturday Series possible.

The Family Saturday Series represents a significant investment by the Carolina Theatre of Durham to remain committed to being a valuable touchstone for the arts in its community. We encourage arts-positive fans from all over the Triangle to navigate their way to YouTube to experience these eight exceptional Saturday shows in 2020-21.

Carolina Theatre of Durham Family Saturday Series Schedule 2020-21

Violet Bell: November 7
Al Strong: December 5
Casey Nees: January 16
Donna Washington: February 6
The Joshua Show: March 20
Kamara Thomas: April 17
Charles Pettee: May 1

All performances on Saturdays at 11 a.m.