Walk Festival Hall to undergo infrastructure, theater improvements — Buckrail
Walk Festival Hall in Teton Village will be getting a facelift, thanks to an ambitious fundraising project by the Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF).
The goals of the campaign are to invest more in musician housing, musician compensation and necessary updates to GTMF’s home music hall that was built 50 years ago.
According to GTMF Executive Director Emma Kail, the renovation at Walk Festival Hall will renew and refresh the space, all while elevating the acoustics of the room. The renovation will also address some much-needed accessibility issues in the building. Currently, a guest in a wheelchair only has one option for where to sit and watch a concert. That will change, and a new 3,000 square foot lobby seeks to improve crowd flow and access with the building’s first elevator.
“The overall reason we’re doing this is to make sure the hall is there for the next generation,” Kail told Buckrail. “The idea to build a concert hall on a ski slope was visionary. It is important for us to improve safety and infrastructure of the hall to make sure it stands for another 50 years.”
The project will include upgraded recording infrastructure, a new amplification system, theatrical lighting, new seating, refreshed backstage areas and additional restrooms. Necessary improvements to safety and infrastructure will include fire suppression, seismic resilience, roof stability and electrical systems.
According to Kail, the hall did not have restrooms attached to the building until the late 1980s, and it still has relatively few for the number of visitors that pass through during each concert.
GTMF has already raised over $35 million in gifts and pledges. Within two years, GTMF will be able to double the stipend they give to the musicians who play during the eight-week festival.
“An organization like this only exists if tremendously generous people are giving,” said Kail, “but the musical experiences — just like the mountains — they are for everyone.”
read the full story