ROCKINGHAM — The curtains at Richmond Community Theatre won’t open for another week out of precaution in anticipation of the remnants of Hurricane Ian.
Theatre Director Merrie Dawkins announced Thursday morning that this weekend’s performances of “The Ladybug Inn” have been canceled.
“We care about the safety of our cast, crew, and our community,” Dawkins said in a Facebook post about the cancellation.
However, the theatre is still planning to hold the performances scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6 and 7, and 3 p.m. Oct. 9.
“The Ladybug Inn” was written by local playwright Katie Ashlyn Collins and, ironically, is set during a hurricane — 2018’s Hurricane Florence.
Meanwhile, the John Coltrane Music Edu-tainment Festival is still currently scheduled to take place at Wayman Chapel Faith Center noon-6 p.m. Oct. 1 at 1935 Ghio Osborne Road, Hamlet.
However, in the event of a local state of emergency, founder and organizer Gerard Morrison said the event will go virtual — as it has been for the past two years.
Should the fest go virtual, here’s how to access it:
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86434828432?pwd=aHFmWEJrZlBlaWUzQ0N6VE1DWWJzQT09
Meeting ID: 864 3482 8432
Passcode: 275743
1-301-715-8592
As of the 2 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center, Ian has been downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall Wednesday on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 4.
The storm is now back in the Atlantic and is expected to regain hurricane strength.
The latest track shows Ian making a second landfall around Charleston, South Carolina — farther north than previously predicted — and traveling north-northwest, crossing into North Carolina south of Monroe — farther east than earlier thought — sometime between 8 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday, weakening from a tropical storm to a tropical depression.
The latest models show Richmond County has a 60-80% chance of tropical-storm-force winds (39 mph or greater) with the higher probability in the southern end of the county. The rainfall potential still stands at 4-6 inches.
