Country Thunder organizers taking wait-and-see approach

Gerry Krochak would like to be able to predict the future for Country Thunder Saskatchewan, but he admitted Wednesday his crystal ball “is a bit fuzzy right now.”

Krochak, the director of marketing and media relations for Country Thunder Music Festivals, said no one is sure what’s in store for the country music festival set for July in Craven due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The thing that people are beginning to learn is that events like Country Thunder or the Queen City Ex or Saskatchewan Roughrider football — things that we look forward to every summer in Saskatchewan — it’s largely, if not completely, out of our control,” Krochak said. “It’ll come down to city and provincial officials, health officials (and the) Canadian government.

“Everybody wants to get back to the point where we can gather and have these events, but what that’s going to look like, I don’t think any of us are clairvoyants. Our event is scheduled to take place in three months. It would sure be nice (if it happened), but we don’t know.”

The coronavirus has forced the rescheduling, postponement or outright cancellation of myriad events around the world.

For Country Thunder, shows in Florida and Arizona already have been rescheduled to October. The company now is waiting to see what will happen with its June event in Iowa.

As for Craven — well, Krochak and his cohorts are taking a wait-and-see approach, which is admittedly  tough.

“At this time of year, we only have one speed, so to not be on that speed — and to not have just come off of doing a big show in Arizona — is just really unusual for us,” he said. “We often talk about these events in Saskatchewan that are so important to people. We do the opposite of social distancing, so it’s unusual, but I think we can still be hopeful …

“Things can change so quickly that we just have to kind of be on our toes and work hard and prepare like we’re playing until somebody says we’re not.”

Public health orders in Saskatchewan require people to stay two metres apart so — as Krochak said — that wouldn’t necessarily fit with a typical concert at Craven.

Asked if Country Thunder could be done with physical distancing, Krochak replied: “It’s not a conversation that we’ve had.”

“I don’t know if there are models that other events are looking at, where you would be attempting to limit the amount of people and (make sure they stay) certain arm lengths away,” he added. “It’s nothing that we’ve discussed or looked at.”

Artists such as Luke Combs, Kane Brown, Dan + Shay and Clint Black were scheduled to perform in Craven. If COVID-19 forces Country Thunder organizers to give up the July dates, they may have to alter the lineup if performers’ schedules don’t work with the new dates.

“To reschedule and rebook I would have thought would have been impossible — and yet we’ve done it for two markets,” Krochak said, referring to the shows in Florida and Arizona. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

“We’re from Saskatchewan, so we know what it takes to make things happen if they can happen.”

— With files from 980 CJME’s Joseph Ho