A grassroots event is lighting up performance venues across the country tonight after they've spent several months in the dark.

In a standard production run, there is typically one day where no performance takes place in the theatre. This is referred to as the “dark” day.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered live venues around the world, many theatres, concert halls, convention centres and festival grounds have remained dark while organizations re-imagine performance seasons and await the time when social gathering is permitted to take place.

On Tuesday, September 22, the Day of Visibility for the Live Event Community is scheduled to take place across Canada.

Organized by Live Event Community, Light Up Live! will take place one hour after sundown, with technicians, suppliers and venues across the country lighting up live venues and landmarks in red, raising awareness for an industry that is still dark.

According to lightuplive.ca, “the arts, entertainment and recreation sector lost 152,000 of 486,100 jobs between June 2019 and June 2020, and 86 per cent of businesses experienced a high level of impact due to the decrease in demand or cancellation of services.”

The site goes on to point out that those who are still employed have seen a drastic reduction in work hours.

In Winnipeg, 21 performance venues—including the Centennial Concert Hall, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Bell MTS Place, and Gas Station Arts Centre—will illuminate themselves in red light.