GALA Festival Minneapolis

It took a lot of work, but we're very happy to say that Festival Minneapolis is ON with NEW DATES! Join us in downtown Minneapolis as we lift our voices together Wednesday, July 7 through Sunday, July 11, 2021.

Continuing to Hold Festival in Minneapolis

The murder of George Floyd has caused concern about the safety of our delegates at GALA Festival 2020NE in Minneapolis and the wisdom of expending our dollars there. GALA is continuing to plan to hold our festival in Minneapolis for two important reasons: 1) We have existing contracts secured, and 2) The sad truth is that there is no city in the United States that is free of systemic racism. We do have the leverage of numbers, however, and we are working with city officials and our local choruses (who have been very active in recent protests) to determine what steps are being taken in Minneapolis to address police brutality and institutional racism. Nothing will change overnight, of course, but we believe the city is embarking on a constructive path, per recent conversations with the tourism & convention bureau and some concrete actions already taken by city officials.

We will continue to monitor the situation to determine whether actions align with the words being spoken by Minneapolis officials. Security in the Festival Village for Festival 202ONE will be maintained by outside security firms recommended to us by the Twin Cities LGBTQ Pride organization and not from the Minneapolis Police Department. The safety of all our chorus members remains our top priority.

Delegate Registrations

After a long period of isolation and loss, it will be more important than ever to gather and sing together. To facilitate a smooth transition to the rescheduled dates, all existing Festival registrations will be carried over.

We are so appreciative of your involvement in the LGBTQ+ Choral Movement, and we're looking forward to seeing you. The hard truth, though, is that much of the cost of producing Festival has already been spent, and so it's critical that as many delegates as possible leave their registrations in place if GALA Choruses is to remain solvent.

At the same time, we are keenly aware of the financial strain the COVID-19 crisis has placed on all of us as individuals. If you are unable to roll over your Delegate Registration and are in urgent need of reimbursement, you can request a refund through our Integra Planner system:

• Go to https://galachoruses.integraplanner.net/ and log in with your email address as your username.
• On your homepage, under the "Festival 2020 Minneapolis" heading, click the link for "Integra Marketplace."
• Fill in the short form and Save it.

Please understand that refunds take time, but our tiny staff will be working diligently to accommodate your needs. New registrations are welcome at the current "regular" rates through the Integra Planner system.

Chorus registrations and existing optional purchases such as rehearsal space, banners and consignment will all be carried over.

Schedule

We're planning to keep the Coffee Concerts and evening Blockbusters in place, but individual chorus performance times may change. A schedule will be announced and posted on the website later in the year. We will still be using Orchestra Hall, Central Lutheran church and the Minneapolis Convention Center stage as our primary performance venues.

Housing

The Festival hotel block is not yet set, as we are still (re)negotiating with many of the downtown Minneapolis hotels for the new dates. Delegates will have to re-book rooms through Convention Housing Partners after the contracts are finalized. Details will be sent to Festival Liaisons as soon as possible.