September 7th, 2021 | Story by Gordon Dritschilo | Originally Posted in the Rutland Herald
The Paramount Theatre in downtown Rutland, VT
The Paramount Theater will expect guests to have vaccination cards and masks when it resumes indoor shows later this month.
The theater announced late last week that guests would have to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test administered within the past 72 hours before entering and that masks would have to be worn at all times while inside the venue.
“The industry as a whole really is shifting in this direction,” Paramount Executive Director Eric Mallette said Tuesday. “You see similar requirements on Broadway. A number of venues here in Vermont and in New England are taking similar steps. We do want to reopen, and this is the best way to do it.”
Similarly, the Pickle Barrel nightclub in Killington has announced that guests will have to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test alongside proof of age to get in.
“We’ve always been committed here to providing a safe and enjoyable experience for people,” owner Chris Karr said Tuesday. “I hope this goes away in time that we don’t have to do this. Right now, as we enter into our season, we feel this is the best way to move forward.”
Karr said the 2020-21 season was rough and he hopes his customers will want to avoid a return to those sorts of restrictions as much as he does.
“I have a nightclub that holds hundreds of people and we were allowed to hold 75 people on a capacity basis,” he said. “I don’t want to go back to those days ever again. ... Let’s stay ahead of this.”
Mallette noted that Higher Ground in Burlington had instituted a vaccination or test requirement and Karr said other Chittenden County venues had followed suit. Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater is also requiring proof of vaccination, according to the theater’s website.
“Many of the artists and booking agents that bring the artists into the room are requiring it,” Karr said.
The Paramount’s line-up starts Sept. 18 with a cappella group Straight No Chaser. Mallette said the Paramount had yet to encounter any acts that would not appear without vaccination requirements.
“We still haven’t experienced that particular issue, but as we ramp up our schedule, I assume that’s something we’ll have to contend with,” he said.
Vermont reported 114 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, 14 of them in Rutland County. Rutland County’s 14-day case count stood at 190.