ByDanielle Seat|April 13, 2021 at 5:06 AM EDT - Updated April 13 at 7:52 AM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Spoleto Festival USA is returning to Charleston this year and tickets went on sale Tuesday.
Organizers say they are getting creative and building two outdoor stages in order to make the event happen safely.
The bus shed at the Charleston Visitor Center is one of two locations organizers are transforming into a stage for the Spoleto Festival. Buses will still run through during the day, but from 4 p.m. the stage will be set for the hundreds of performers coming to Charleston for the 45th annual festival.
Additionally, organizers say they will be building another stage at the College of Charleston’s Rivers Green. But that’s not to say it won’t come at a cost.
The Director of the Spoleto Festival USA Nigel Redden says between the new stage at the bus shed and the other new location at Rivers Green, they are spending about half a million dollars to construct them. After the event was canceled last year, Redden says they were prepared to do whatever they could to make it happen.
In addition to the two outdoor locations, there will also be a series of performances at the Dock Street Theater.
The entire event will have only 25% of its normal capacity so Redden says this means tickets will go fast.
This year the festival is scheduled to start on May 28, but Redden says they will have 70 live performances and, for the first time ever, 20 virtual performances.
Redden says although they only expect to bring in about $1 million of the typical $3 million at the box office, there is no shortage of excitement from everyone involved.
“In the case of the performers who are coming to Charleston for the festival, many of them will be performing for a live audience for the first time in a year,” Redden says. “And they are all extremely excited about the prospect of doing it because this is their passion. This is what they do.”
Ticket are on sale both online over the phone now.
Tickets can be purchased over the phone by calling 843-579-3100.Additionally they can be purchased online at the Spoleto Festival’s website.
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