Stage Doesn’t Collapse – But It Could Have

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Photo of Stage at WalkerFest in Florida Credit: Benatar & Giraldo

In this time of year when everybody is having some sort of fair and providing entertainment, we’ve come to expect to see accidents. Well, I’m very happy to report that in this case, there wasn’t an accident. The potential for one was clearly there – between poor staging and the possibility for bad weather – but this time somebody used their smarts and made the right choice!

This particular event was actually last week, but some more details have been released since then. I’m certain that you’ll be surprised to see who actually made the decision in this. So, I won’t keep you any longer.

In a message from Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo:

A MESSAGE FROM PAT AND SPYDER REGARDING THE POSTPONEMENT OF OUR CITRUS COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS SHOW

To clear up what happened tonight and to put to rest any and all rumors…

Deborah Nader, the promoter for the Citrus Fairgrounds charity fundraiser show, failed to meet the contractual obligations for safety.

Our crew arrived first thing this morning to find substandard staging and unsafe conditions…and Nader was nowhere to be found until approximately 3pm!

Despite the repeated attempts of our representatives insisting that the infrastructure of the stage be fixed, by approximately 5pm the situation was still not resolved and it was deemed not safe to put one single piece of our equipment on that stage. We even had an independent structural engineer called in to assess the situation. He concluded that the stage was indeed unsafe and required that it be “modified” before anyone would be permitted to perform on it.

Read their message in its entirety here.

Pat and Spyder also released some photos to the Celebrity Examiner of the substandard staging with this statement:

Neil and I regret that we had to postpone last Friday night’s show in Florida. The safety of our fans, crew, and band must always come first. With the tragedy at the Indiana State Fair a few years ago, staging and production requirements are at an all-time high. The production and staging requirements were unacceptable. There simply was no option. We apologize to everyone who came to see us. But safety is paramount. We are working to reschedule the performance. In the meantime, all monies have been set aside until the show can be played. Thank you to all who support these three great charities.

Under stage bracings Credit: Benatar & Giraldo
Under stage bracings
Credit: Benatar & Giraldo
Photo of Stage at WalkerFest in Florida Credit: Benatar & Giraldo
Photo of Stage at WalkerFest in Florida
Credit: Benatar & Giraldo

You can read the entirety of the Celebrity Examiner’s report here.

Thankfully, this time around we can all breathe a sigh of relief and hopefully learn something more from this non-event.

Thanks to Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo and to the Celebrity Examiner!

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