We have shared this announcement with our reviewer team, a group on long hiatus due to…well, you know. But we must announce to all that we’re putting our Community Review Program on hiatus, perhaps permanently. As this has been just part of our ongoing coverage of the arts, let’s explain:
While arts orgs are hesitantly looking forward to reopening and resuming the activities and performances we have missed so much, we at the List are necessarily re-evaluating all of our programs and making some changes. This part of building a new Lauri’s List that will not only serve the community well, but that will be fully sustainable as we move into whatever new realities are to come.
Unfortunately, this means that some of our programs will not survive COVID, and that includes this review program, which has allowed us to send out an array of Listers to offer their opinions on various local events. As of now, maintaining this pool of reviewers will no longer be a regular program of Lauri’s List. Our review program has been simultaneously beloved, controversial, and very high-maintenance. For now, we simply don’t have the infrastructure to run such a program properly, and while our regular editors may cover events from time to time, we’ll be putting this type of coverage on hold as a regular practice.
Keep on keeping in touch
We’re still here, and will do what we can. Please continue to send us your press releases and event invitations. We’ll continue to provide coverage, interviews, Scoops and editorial reviews as time permits, and we hope to build a larger force of arts reporters in the future. If you’re not currently sending us your info, contact us and we’ll walk you through the current ways to engage and reach us.
Calendar returning very soon
We’re also currently rebuilding the community calendar, and will be accepting submissions ASAP after Easter. Listing your event with us will always be free, and our events newsletter is slated to return in September.
Want to get involved as we move forward?
We’ll continue to seek guest bloggers, visionaries and creative contributors as we go forward. Contact us with your preferred email address if…
- … you would like to remain in the loop about future reviewing activities. You’ll be added to a special mailing list for that purpose.
- … you would like to discuss other guest blogging opportunities for the List. We are looking for well-qualified contributors as we build the blog in general, and those assignments will involve some pay.
- … you have ideas about offering sustainable promotion opportunities to local vocal presenters. That was the root of our review program, and we certainly won’t let go of that core mission.
- … you would like to be part of a hivemind discussion via Zoom in April. We’ll be scheduling that private event and organizing a limited number of invitations soon.
Thanks to all
It was a grand experiment, and yielded some good results, but sadly, things must sometimes come to an end. We’re hoping this experience will allow us to create new programs that will continue to serve the vocal community in both meaningful and viable ways. Many thanks to all who made the community aspect of the review program possible for the past several years. Your contributions are greatly appreciated.
