THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE HAS FACED AND SURVIVED MANY WICKED STORMS IN THE PAST CENTURY PLUS. AND IT WILL HAVE TO SURVIVE YET ANOTHER THREATENING WEATHER SYSTEM, EARLY THIS WEEK. ARGUABLY, IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN BETTER IF THERE WAS A COMPLETED ROOF TO SHIELD HER ANTIQUATED INTERIOR. WITH THE HEAVY RAINFALL ANTICIPATED, WE HOPE EVERYTHING HAS BEEN DONE, THAT CAN BE DONE, FOR SECURITY'S SAKE, PRIOR TO THE FRANKENSTORM'S ARRIVAL LATE MONDAY EVENING. WE ARE ALL COUNTING ON GRAVENHURST COUNCIL TO MAKE SURE PRECAUTIONS ARE TAKEN. THERE IS STILL TIME.
"THE MANY STAGES OF OUR LIVES," ONE OF GRAVENHURST'S BEST KEPT SECRETS
HAVE YOU READ THE OPERA HOUSE HISTORY? DID YOU KNOW ONE HAD EVEN BEEN PUBLISHED?
IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, I'VE HAD SERIOUS CONCERN ABOUT THE ONGOING OPERATION OF THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE. I AM ONE OF HUNDREDS WHO HAVE HAD ROUGHLY THE SAME CONCERN. OLDER RESIDENTS WHO REMEMBER THE HEYDAY, THE COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS, AND THE EXCEPTIONALLY TALENTED MUSICIANS, AND PERFORMERS WHO HAVE PLAYED THAT HISTORIC STAGE. WHEN THE OPERA HOUSE HISTORY WAS PUBLISHED, TO COMMEMORATE THE 100TH YEAR OF ITS EXISTENCE, BACK IN 2001, I READ IT TWICE THEN, AND NUMEROUS TIMES SINCE, INCLUDING ONCE MORE IN THE PAST THREE DAYS. IF I RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT THE OPERA HOUSE, WHETHER IT IS THE WONKY ROOF, NOT QUITE REPAIRED YET, OR THE DECLINING ENTERTAINMENT AT THE MAIN STREET VENUE, IT'S BECAUSE I HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME HOLED-UP IN THIS ENTERTAINING BOOK, "THE MANY STAGES OF OUR LIVES."
WHEN I HAVE SUGGESTED, VEHEMENTLY SO, FORMING AN OPERA HOUSE ADVOCACY GROUP, TO HELP LOOK AFTER THE IMPORTANT HERITAGE SITE, INSIDE AND OUT, I CAN GO BACK IN THIS BOOK AND FIND MANY EXAMPLES WHERE CITIZENS TOOK ACTION, IN A VARIETY OF CAPACITIES, TO LOOK AFTER THEIR TOWN RESOURCE. IT IS A BOOK FULL OF CIVIC PRIDE. IT IS A BOOK THAT RELATES MANY INSTANCES WHERE THE CITIZENS OF THIS TOWN HAD A TOUGH CHOICE AHEAD OF THEM. YANK IT DOWN, OR FIX IT UP. BUT WHILE TOWN COUNCIL MUST LOOK AT MY INTRUSIVE SOLUTIONS WITH DISDAIN, REGARDING CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT, TO HELP THE OPERA HOUSE IN THE FUTURE, THERE ARE HISTORIC PRECEDENTS THROUGHOUT THE BOOK, THAT CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE A HANDS-ON RELATIONSHIP IN THE PAST, WITH THE TOWN THEATRE…..THE MEETING PLACE. I DIDN'T INVENT THE IDEA OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT WITH THE OPERA HOUSE, BUT I DO STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT IT BE RE-VISITED AND MOST DEFINITELY RE-STATED……AND THAT'S NOT HARD TO DO. WHAT'S HARD TO ACCOMPLISH THESE DAYS, IS TO CONVINCE TOWN COUNCIL THAT DESPITE THEIR ELECTED POSITION, THEY CAN SUCCESSFULLY DELEGATE AUTHORITY, AND RESPONSIBILITY, BACK TO THE CITIZENS IN TRUST. JUST LIKE THE OLD DAYS, WHEN THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL KNEW THE IMPORTANCE OF CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT, ESPECIALLY IN REGARDS TO ENTERTAINMENT ON STAGE……AND FUNDRAISING WHEN DISREPAIR THREATENED THE WHOLE BUILDING. FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE.
I WOULD SUGGEST VERY SINCERELY, THAT ALL THOSE COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES, REFRESH THEMSELVES WITH A COPY OF THIS BOOK, SO THAT THEY APPRECIATE THAT THE BUILDING THEY ARE IN THE MIDST OF REPAIRING, EVERSO GRADUALLY, IS VERY MUCH AT THE HEART OF THIS COMMUNITY'S HERITAGE. NOT A LITTLE TO THE LEFT, OR A TAD TO THE RIGHT. SMACK-DAB IN THE MIDDLE. THE OPERA HOUSE HAS BEEN A DEMONSTRATION SITE OF COMMUNITY SPIRIT AND PRIDE, SINCE IT CHEERFULLY BYPASSED THE TEMPORARY MISTRUST BY CITIZENS, AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, OF BEING AN ILL-AFFORDED EXTRAVAGANCE; TO THE DAYS, REPEATED TIME AND AGAIN, WHEN THE QUESTION HAD TO BE RAISED ONCE MORE……TO PRESERVE OR SCRAP. EACH TIME, THE RALLYING CRY WAS HUGE AND A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. YOU CAN'T GO THROUGH TEN PAGES OF THIS FASCINATING BOOK, WITHOUT APPRECIATING JUST HOW EMOTIONALLY SIGNIFICANT THIS BUILDING WAS, TO THE TOWN THAT GREW AROUND IT. THEN THERE IS THE EVIDENCE, THAT WHEN IT WAS THREATENED, BY WHATEVER CIRCUMSTANCE IN WHATEVER ERA, THE BATTLE FOR ITS PRESERVATION WOULD UNFURL WITH PEOPLE-POWER. WHEN CIRCUMSTANCE PUT THIS BUILDING IN PERIL, ITS DEFENDERS CAME OUT OF EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY, TO HELP WITH FUNDRAISING, WITH AMPLE MANPOWER FOR WHATEVER PROJECT WAS NEEDED, TO HELP IT SURVIVE THROUGH YET ANOTHER GENERATION. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, READ ITS HISTORICAL ACCOUNT.
HOW MANY BOOKS ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR SALE?
I'D PERSONALLY LIKE TO KNOW, HOW MANY OF THESE BOOKS ARE STILL AVAILABLE? DOES THE TOWN HAVE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT QUANTITIES OF UNSOLD COPIES? WHY ARE THEY NOT IN STORES AROUND THIS TOWN, WHERE FOLKS INTERESTED CAN BUY THEM? I WOULD BE GLAD TO PROMOTE THEM ON THIS BLOG SITE. I HAVE TWO CHERISHED COPIES, AND I KEEP ONE AT OUR MAIN STREET SHOP, IN CASE VISITORS ARRIVE WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT THE OPERA HOUSE…..RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET. SO POSSIBLY, A COUNCILLOR OR TWO COULD DO A LITTLE EXTRA RESEARCH, AND FIND OUT IF THERE ARE BOXES OF THESE BOOKS THAT COULD BE DISTRIBUTED, TO HELP FUND ONGOING WORK AT THE OPERA HOUSE. THERE'S A DANDY IDEA. IT'S NOT LIKE WE DON'T NEED THE MONEY.
THE COMMUNITY WILL HAVE TO GET INVOLVED AGAIN - OR LOSE THE VENUE
I don't care how many administrators, at town hall, it takes to come up with a swell plan for the Opera House…..it's not up to them. Council might give them the task, but those who have ultimate responsibility for the Opera House's future, are the constituents, many reading this blog. In two years, during the next municipal election, the Opera House administration is going to be a major issue. I don't break promises. There is a chance to work co-operatively now, ahead of the curve so to speak.
The Opera House has become very much disassociated with the citizens of this community. It is run by the town on their assumption of what is in its and our best interest. That's a big hairy problem. Yet from the beginning, in 1901, there were many citizen-driven organizations, societies, and period initiatives, that utilized what they knew was a town asset…..and took full advantage, to use the Opera House as the hub of many community activities. Citizens worked with the town to establish programs, and you will find dozens upon dozens of examples, where history lapped page upon page, without even the mention of town council's inherent control of the site. Reading the book in fact, is by itself, a clear demonstration, that while the town backed-up the administration of the site, it didn't give the appearance of being a typical municipal holding; as an arena or recreation centre. The Opera House was tied much closer to constituents, and I'm pretty sure, that if you read the book carefully, you will see the huge relationship distance that exists now, between administration and potential user groups…..many by the way, that can not afford to rent the facility, to put on events for community benefit.
I have read that the CAO will be looking at the Opera House situation, as it relates to future long-term agreements, such as theatre rentals most recently proposed. I would like to suggest to the CAO that imminent failure, will result if the town continues to look at suggestions, such as an Opera House Advocacy Committee, as a weakening of their control over a town property. The faulty logic, is that they see community involvement as almost inconvenient and unproductive, when they can look back in the book they helped publish, and find that the only reason the Opera House is standing today, is because of citizen involvement during many crisis periods…….and the binding and quilting together that tied all the decades together. The reluctance of the council of this town, to call on the citizenry now, to safeguard and assist the Opera House, is far out of character for the tradition of our town. In the past decade, citizens have noticed this clenching of control, and dominance, particularly with the high rental rates and most recently surcharges, that has quite substantially, taken our venue away from us. I am only one of many who have observed this trend, which has severely limited what can be put on stage……if profit is the desired outcome.
The citizens are to blame. I hate to write this, because it seems an unfair assessment. There has been a reluctance, you see, to stand-up to town hall, and let them know the rules have to be changed. There is a definite reluctance to rear-up, with protest, when it comes to asserting constituent authority, over the council we elected. There is a general apathy to challenge authority, because it does take a yeoman's effort to initiate. Once again, the book shows how determination, of the public, kept the Opera House active, vibrant, and open against the odds. Now we appear to have surrendered everything to town council, and I don't see much willingness on their part, to give some of it back where it rightfully belongs. An Opera House Advocacy Committee might be a new name, and that can be tweaked. But it isn't a new idea. It's been a subtle but powerful force within the community since the early 1900's, when they took this expensive new building, and made the most out of it……getting their investment back year over year, by making it work hard for the town…..and thousands of important projects to knit the citizenry together. This isn't about council calling a few folks together with a vested interest. This is about a town appreciating, that they really don't have the experience to be running an entertainment venue of this calibre. They need the community to interact, and play a pivotal role from within…..not just with their little faces pressed against the glass. I'm sure a public call for such a group, would draw a significant number of names. What a place to start. What an exciting way to heat-up emotions, and make future plans that titillate instead of frustrate.
On the other hand, how would town council react, if a committee was to form on its own, and develop its own constitution, and then challenge the town hall on its authority for the facility. Do town councillors think this couldn't happen? Do councillors disbelieve that there are dissenters in this town, who would love the chance to form a lobby group, to herald new realities at the Opera House? So confronted by such a group, how would the town greet this challenge to authority? With open arms? Or with disinterest generally? Would their response be, "We've got the Opera House under control?" Or, "Thank goodness, the cavalry has arrived?" What great public relations it would be, that with a new roof, would arrive a new open-mindedness, that they "need and require," the enthusiastic participation of the public, to revitalize the Opera House tradition. Imagine the goodwill this would create. And yet, it's all here in this book, in front of me now. The book that may be stuffed into musty boxes somewhere, that aren't even serving the purposes of leveling wonky-legged tables. There are precedents in the book, that allow council to drop their guard a tad, and acknowledge, that without community activism, especially in determining how best to proceed with the Opera House, they will eventually be faced with a budgetary situation, that forces serious cuts to maintain a building that needs hundreds of thousands in upgrades. I suspect this has happened already.
The Opera House is getting a new roof. Slowly. But there are other needs of an old building, that will soon have to be addressed. While council will not like the concept of subscribing to the unsolicited ideas of a "small bananas" blogger, I'm relaying a basic truth, the CAO is welcome to investigate. The building in the next twenty years, will absolutely need the fundraising activities of the public. Instead, like what happened in the past, when locks were placed on the door by provincial authority, due to architectural shortfalls, what sensible proportion it would be, to have a Town Council sensing the sweat equity value, of getting citizens involved early……before the next huge expense to come from this historic landmark. If you read the book, once again, you will find this has happened quite a number of times, but the citizens weren't as distant from the square, in sentiment, as they are today. As council has helped create this distancing, it also has the chance to be future-minded, not just with debentures, but with the common sense knowledge, that it has taken an entire community, over numerous generations, to keep the Opera House functioning. So it could never be considered wrong-minded, to try, at all costs, to bring it back to the sharing relationship it needs to be, in order to even have a future. Without the community participation it needs, in all quarters, it is just another old building getting to the end of its usefulness, and one day, a council will again be faced with that dreaded question. Spend or demolish?
Town administration is not going to be able to run the Opera House in this fashion for much longer. It needs a partnership with the people who share its ownership, and stewardship. It's the way it began and the way it must return. Go ahead. Read the book. Tell me I'm wrong. If you can't find me wrong, then here's an idea. How about even one councillor, having the courage to represent this issue to the larger council, as a way to build back public confidence, and citizen goodwill, to reignite the enthusiasm for our landmark entertainment venue. One voice in favor, can spark a lot of good stuff to come. Admitting that the public today, doesn't feel like they did about the Opera House once…..should by itself, be reason to enquire why? The citizens of this town, know why. So ask them!
We are so fortunate, not to have been hit by an earthquake here, of the size that rumbled below British Columbia in the past 24 hours. That may have been unkind to our historic architecture, not built to withstand serious earthquakes. Now all we have to worry about is a Frankenstorm, and the fact we have a half-finished roof on the Opera House. Whatever religion you follow, how about a few words of prayer for a cherished landmark.
Thanks so much for joining today's blog. Get your rain gear ready for Monday night. It's looking a little like Hazel…..but hopefully it will be more like a fizzle.
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