Boulder Jewish News Arts, Culture, Events, Lifestyles, Holidays, Synagogues, Education
Boulder, CO, March 11: The Boulder JCC announced this morning that they have canceled the remaining screenings of the Boulder Jewish Film Festival, effective immediately. They have taken this step in response to Colorado Governor Jared Polis announcing yesterday a State of Emergency in Colorado due to COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus) epidemic, which calls for limiting public events.
The full statement from Jonathan Lev, Executive Director of the Boulder JCC, follows:
| Dear Boulder JCC Community, Our highest priority is the safety, health, and wellbeing of our students, community members, and staff. The Boulder JCC, with the leadership of our Safety and Security Team and the Boulder JCC Board, have been working closely with our local and state public health agencies, the CDC, and the JCC Association as we monitor the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). We are continuously assessing the implications of delaying, postponing, and/or cancelling various programs and activities at the JCC. These decisions are difficult and complicated. We pride ourselves on being a safe and welcoming place for people of all ages and backgrounds to gather, connect, exchange ideas, learn, and grow together. In the recent declaration by Governor Jared Polis of a state of emergency in Colorado he shared, “Our most vulnerable population, including those over 60 and those with chronic health issues, are urged to avoid public gatherings.” We recognize our role in helping lead the effort to help limit the potential spread of this virus locally. Additionally, learnings from other communities have shown success in limiting the potential spread of the virus by swiftly limiting large gatherings. We are committed to learning from other communities and doing our part locally. As a result, we are cancelling all remaining screenings of the Boulder Jewish Film Festival. We have decided to cancel these screenings because the event gathers large crowds and serves a diverse population, including vulnerable populations. We are deeply appreciative of our staff for their tireless work in organizing this incredible festival and the Dairy Arts Center and their Executive Director, Melissa Fathman, who partners with us to create this annual event. As two nonprofit organizations, we rely on programmatic funds as a major source of income. We are working with the Dairy to create a process for those needing a refund. We will send a follow-up email to Film Festival ticket holders with more information. We ask for your patience as we determine what, if any, additional programs and events will be cancelled or postponed to a new date. If you would like to cancel your attendance at an event or program that you’re already registered for, please send an email to JConnect@boulderjcc.org. We are hopeful that by taking swift and direct action we can help keep our community healthy and safe. The Jay and Rose Phillips Early Childhood Center and smaller programs and events are not affected at this time. Due to the nature of information changing by the hour, we are only making decisions about JCC organized programs over the next 5 days. As such, decisions can change rapidly and we urge you to continue checking back with us. The Boulder JCC has prepared a Coronavirus (COVID-19) Preparedness webpage to provide up to date information to community members. This webpage will be continuously updated as needed. This situation is changing rapidly and we urge you to check our webpage frequently for the most up to date information. Thank you for your understanding and support. Sincerely, Jonathan Lev Executive Director Boulder JCC |
