The Board and Staff of The Mabel Mercer Foundation (MMF) has announced the cancellation of the 2020 New York City Cabaret Convention, the first time in three decades. MMF founder, Donald F. Smith, produced the first New York City Cabaret Convention in 1989. He mounted the second such event in 1991, and every year since then, playing to some two hundred thousand people.
The cancelation comes as a necessary move in light of the ongoing corona virus pandemic. Large scale events and mass gatherings are not sanctioned in New York City until Phase Four in the “New York Forward Plan,” the date of which is not clear at this time.
The MMF plans a virtual concert on October 19 and will soon establish mid-October dates for the 2021 Cabaret Convention. The planned centennial concert honoring Peggy Lee at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital venue is now scheduled for May 25, 2021, while the third annual Adela and Larry Elow American Songbook High School Competition will be finalized within the coming months as a “virtual contest.” The twelve participating students have each submitted an a cappella audition, and their virtual performances will be judged by representatives of the music world.
Meanwhile, until the Cabaret Convention is able to resume live, enjoy this tribute to the past, with hopes for the future:
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