BLUEBONNET OPRY CANCELS SHOWS THROUGH OCTOBER
Silver Wings Ballroom in Brenham will not see crowds for the monthly Bluebonnet Opry until at least late this fall.
Wednesday night, the Friends of Bluebonnet Opry board chose to cancel all shows through October. The board will meet again at that time to decide whether to proceed with a show in November.
Bluebonnet Opry President Eunice Drews said with the current situation surrounding COVID-19 locally, officials felt that the age groups most interested in attending the opry would not want to risk their health.
Friends of Bluebonnet Opry did host a show in June, but according to Drews, the show only drew an attendance of 110. Compared to an average attendance of over 300 and a record-setting gathering of 649 at Dion Pride’s performance in January, Drews said the opry cannot operate on those kinds of crowds.
If opry officials do decide to hold a show in November, it will just be with the Bluebonnet Opry house band. Drews hopes the performance of Georgette Jones, the daughter of George Jones and Tammy Wynette, will kick off 2021 with a bang after being rescheduled from September to January.
As proceeds from each show benefit Hospice Brazos Valley, this year’s donations to the organization have taken a hit, with shows only having been performed in January, February, and June. Drews said numbers are noticeably down from the over $7,000 the opry donated to Hospice Brazos Valley last year. The opry normally makes quarterly contributions between $1,000 and $2,000 each March, June, September, and December, but Drews said the board decided Wednesday to hold off on giving the September donation until December.
To learn more, or to donate, visit www.friendsofbluebonnetopry.com.