New London — A certificate of occupancy in hand after a contractor's error cost Hygienic Art Inc. several months of fundraising time for its new outdoor amphitheater project, the nonprofit's key officials say they are nonetheless ready to forge ahead with an ambitious series of events starting in June and continuing into the fall.

Sarah McKay, executive director of the Hygienic, said the amphitheater's certificate of occupancy, which had been delayed when city building officials determined in January that the structure's glass-and-steel placement didn't match the original plans, finally was issued earlier this month.

She added that the Hygienic had to provide a new survey of the finished structure, which wound up closer to the Bank Street art gallery than plans called for, and that the city zoning board unanimously approved the change.

"We already have three weddings booked," she said.

But the Hygienic will have a lot more going on, with the spruced-up Hygienic Art Park hosting its second Blues and Brews Festival June 2-3 before the official grand opening of the amphitheater within the park during a Bacchanalia celebration with live music June 16.

Other events planned this year include festivals featuring independent films, Latino music, folk rock and hip-hop. A Summer Flickers movie series that was held last year currently is on hold but the Hygienic expects to host a Sinners Circle songwriting group in August as well as poetry events and fashion shows, among other possibilities.

"We're open to fundraisers," McKay said.

Other possibilities include a world music series, a surf-and-swing show and a Towers of New London throwback music event with many of the great local bands from a few decades ago. Most events are donation-only, and the venue will be open from April till the end of October, about three months longer than the art park previously had operated.

"It will be a huge attraction for downtown and New London," said Jason Holtzman, the Williams School graduate and internationally known architect who designed the amphitheater.

"There's a whole community out there that supports the Hygienic," added Vincent Scarano, president of the Hygienic's board of directors and one of its founders, during an interview last week at the nonprofit's offices in the Dewart Building on State Street.

And the Hygienic will be looking for plenty of support. Still about $125,000 from its $475,000 fundraising goal for full installation of the amphitheater, the nonprofit will be launching another $15,000 Kickstarter campaign after a similar drive easily netted $10,000 last time around, said McKay, and the group also will be reaching out to regional foundations and offering on-site banners and naming rights to businesses.

"Corporate sponsors are increasingly challenging," McKay said.

The Frank Loomis Palmer Amphitheater already has been largely erected as a three-season performance space, but a few finishing touches are left to complete, including the installation of special lighting, a dance floor and a canopy for video projections and other effects. The Hygienic said the outdoor amphitheater, which has an occupancy limit of about 350 and a 60-by-60-foot covering to hold out the rain, will triple the amount of programming that can be offered at the Bank Street site.

The amphitheater is being completed with the partnership of the Downtown New London Association, the National Theater of the Deaf, Community Stage Partners and Spark Makerspace, among other local groups. Funding so far has come from the Chester Kitchings Family Foundation, the Lord Family Foundation, the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Mercedes Benz Carriage House of New London, the Wilmerding family and the state Department of Economic and Community Development, as well as smaller individual donations.

McKay said the Hygienic is trying to pay off a line of credit from Liberty Bank but the amphitheater project was on time and on budget. She added that the Hygienic gallery itself is trying to raise money for renovations, citing a "laundry list" of items that need to be addressed.

"This is a big community project," Scarano said. "This will bring lots of business. This is a huge gift to the downtown area."

l.howard@theday.com