Pine Plains, NY:  The Board of Directors and staff of The Stissing Center (TSC) have announced the postponement of their planned Spring Series of events due to the recent spread of the Coronavirus. TSC cited its concern for the health and safety of the audiences, performers, volunteers, staff, and the entire community as the driving force behind the decision.

“Needless to say, we are all disappointed in the short term,” said TSC Board Chair, Jack Banning. “But after careful consideration, internal discussions, and examining WHO and CDC guidelines, we all feel this is the right move at this time.”

“We were in the final stages of putting together an exciting, diverse series of events that we were sure everyone would enjoy,” said TSC Executive Director, Brian Keeler. “We’d planned on announcing the series this week, with performances to begin in late April. We will now look to book this series for a later time. We’ll continue to reassess over the coming months and plan accordingly.”

During this pause in programming, TSC will continue with necessary construction and renovation in preparation for year-round programming.

“We are presently busy constructing a second space for performances and meetings in the lower level of the building called ‘The Cellar at the Center’,” Keeler said. “That work won’t stop. Also, we’ll continue to fundraise and work on bringing HVAC to the larger auditorium. Although we are hitting the pause button on performances, it’s full speed ahead on the construction.

“These actions are in support of the larger, national effort to tackle this vexing problem,” Keeler added. “Hopefully it will help ‘flatten the curve,’ which is a process of slowing the advance and lowering the peak level of the virus, an action advocated by healthcare experts and infectious disease professionals.”

Banning cited TSC’s larger vision: “This decision fits with our mission of supporting the community’s well being. In this case, with so many unknowns, it is through actions like this that we can help protect public health.”