TOLEDO, Ohio — The next two weeks will be jammed-packed with outdoor events in our region, and that included Thursday night's Third Eye Blind concert hosted by ProMedica at Promenade Park.
"Love the band. Love coming downtown for these concerts. Just been wonderful through the years," said Leann Schoenfelt, a concertgoer from Waterville.
"I'm excited. First concert we've been to like this in probably a year and a half, two years. So it's exciting to see live music again," added Tim Miller, a concertgoer from out of town.
But with these large crowd gatherings, how do concertgoers feel about the new mask guidance from the county?
People were jamming at Promenade Park and people were jammed into the outdoor venue.
This was just hours after the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department recommended masks for people in situations just like this.
Some, like Caitlin Wernert, a concert goer from Toledo, were all for it.
"My Ph.D. is immunology. And I do testing for the COVID virus at the local hospital. And we're seeing pretty drastic increase in numbers. Especially children who can't get vaccinated," Wernert said.
But others, like Schoenfelt from Waterville, were not happy with the advisory.
"I'm fully vaccinated. I feel that as a fully vaccinated individual I'm protected. So, I'm hoping that, that I've invested in that vaccine and my belief system is correct," Schoenfelt said.
We reached out to ProMedica for the health system's take.
The health system, which puts on these concerts, says it posted signs at Promenade Park a few weeks ago recommending wearing masks at its summer concerts and is providing free disposable masks at all entry points, as well as COVID-19 vaccine stations at the concerts.
For the next two weeks, Toledo will be the site of other huge gatherings, including bigger concerts, as well as the Solheim Cup golf tournament at Inverness.
But if Thursday night was any indication, masks were not a fan favorite.
Still, Wernert believes getting through the pandemic is about compromise.
"It's good to go and have fun. And have events. But we can also be reasonable," Wernert said.