There’s more happening now than there has been in many months. But all this activity is not without a sense of unease.

Tajha Chappellet-Lanier here, staring at some tickets to a real, live, in-person concert on Saturday—the Cali Roots Welcome Back Concert. If I go, it’ll be the first concert I’ve been to since the fall of 2019.

I’m certainly not the only one excited by the possibility of returning to the performing arts after a long pandemic hiatus. “We need this energy to fill our cups,” festival producer Dan Sheehan told Weekly music freelancer Jesse Herwitz for a story in this week’s print edition. “Come and enjoy being back outdoors, enjoying music with friends. We are still in this together.”

We are still in this together. But what is this, exactly? And where are we at in it?

There’s more happening (in arts, in culture and in events) than there has been in many months. People are getting out to see plays, take in comedy and listen to music. Whether you’re among those people or not, it’s clear from our re-imagined Hot Picks calendar that things are ramping up. Bigger annual events are starting to reappear as well—the West End Celebration will make its triumphant return this very weekend, in fact. 

But all this activity is not without a sense of unease. “It’s so precarious,” says Stephen Moorer, executive director of the Pacific Repertory Theatre. The theater company is currently performing Shrek: The Musical at the Outdoor Forest Theater, but cast and crew are all well aware that they are just one breakthrough Covid case away from being shut down. “Every weekend we’re like ‘OK, we got through another weekend,’” Moorer says.

Some points for consideration on the pandemic front: Seventy-seven percent of Monterey County residents (aged 12 and over) are vaccinated (with at least one dose; 67 percent has the full two doses). That’s a solid vaccination rate, and in parts of the county it's even higher. Still, with the delta variant, we’re not out of the woods. We currently have a case rate of 13.4 cases per 100,000, and a test positivity rate of 3.9 percent. Case numbers, while still low compared to the winter spike, have been rising steadily since July. 

This is starting to lead to some cancellations and postponements. The Monterey Bay Greek Festival, which was scheduled for this weekend at Custom House Plaza, has been canceled due to concern over the delta variant. Blues guitarist Buddy Guy was on the calendar to perform at the Golden State Theatre on Sept. 3, but has now postponed his appearance “per his doctor's advice and with an abundance of caution for his fans, band, venue/support staff and himself.” (Guy is 82 years old, so this seems like a prudent choice.) 

Some organizers and venues are starting to require that attendees show proof of vaccination (or a recent negative test), but this comes with a whole host of added challenges. Mask requirements are more common, but also largely rely on the honor system. Unlike surrounding counties including Santa Cruz and many in the Bay Area, Monterey County does not currently have a mask mandate in place—just a recommendation. The county Board of Supervisors is set to consider an indoor mask mandate for public locations in unincorporated areas of Monterey County during their upcoming Aug. 31 meeting—a mandate for the entire county would need to come from Health Officer Edward Moreno.

So where does this leave us? Should I (vaccinated) go enjoy this concert I have tickets to? Should I wear a mask while I’m there, even though it’s all outdoors? If you’re facing similar uneasy questions, you’re not alone.

There are no easy answers, just shades of risk tolerance and risk management. We are still in this together.