‘Concerts Under Stars’ Canceled
The Irvine Co. has canceled its annual “Concerts Under the Stars” series at UC Irvine this summer, the company announced Friday.
“The plain simple fact of the matter is that the company has completely re-evaluated our contributions and programs and we feel that other things we’ve done, such as contributions to the Newport Harbor Art Museum, are more vital concerns and the concert took a lower priority,” said Frank Smith, the company’s vice president for community affairs. The concerts were costing the company $250,000 a year.
Last year, seven concerts were offered and included such performers as Tony Bennett, Ray Charles and Sarah Vaughn.
About 125,000 people attended last year’s concerts, Smith said.
The series began as a band concert 17 years ago at Newport Beach’s Fashion Island and moved to the UC Irvine campus about four years ago, Smith said.
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