March has become a problematic month for planners at the International Festival for Arts & Ideas.

Last year, just weeks before its 25th anniversary celebration, the pandemic shut down in-person events, forcing the New Haven festival to go all virtual.

This March, things were in flux again as COVID numbers in the state remained disturbingly high and forecasting for June was difficult.

But this year, festival leaders were ready for the unknown, says Shelley Quiala, the new executive director of the festival who began her job in August.

“We were bifurcating our planning last fall when we asked artists to approach us with a two-track option: live and virtual,” she said from the festival’s downtown New Haven office.

Now that COVID numbers have dramatically declined in the state and an increasing number of people become vaccinated, the festival will offer in-person performances on the New Haven Green from June 18 to 27 in front of live audiences. The shows will also be streamed online for those who still have hesitancy in communal gatherings or are not able to attend.

The question still evolving is how many people will be allowed in the audience, and how many will actually attend?

Festival planners are being guided by a COVID consultant.

In a typical festival run, up to 5,000 people flock to the New Haven Green but this year it will be a fraction of that number — 600 — and, although free, ticket registration is required “for contact-tracing” purposes, says Quiala. (Registration is at artidea.org)

“While the governor may have lifted restrictions, we‘re looking to evaluate in a slightly more conservative way,” she says. The number will be reviewed for possible expansion closer to the festival date.

Early registration for free tickets indicates attendance will not be an issue with many of the days already sold out.

“Our expectation is that we’re going to be full,” says Aaron Thompson, the festival’s new…

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