CHRISTMAS IN GRAVENHURST - THE FUNDRAISING CONCERT IS LOOKING FOR SPONSORSHIIPS

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10TH - GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE

It's the 14th day of November, and it's going to be a sensational pre-winter sojourn, if, like me, you cherish a little sun and warmth in late autumn. Writing about Christmas, and the annual fundraising Christmas Concert, seems a little strange, under the weather circumstances. I'm drawing on the years I spent Christmas holidays in Florida, to motivate myself beyond the snowscape of a traditional Canadian winter. What is particularly motivating, is that the Food Bank, here in Gravenhurst, needs our help. As the Salvation Army has helped many local families this year, with food, clothing and household materials, we need to show our support, in return, for the way in which they are assisting those folks…..our neighbors, in crisis. Snow or not, this is going to be a tough winter season for a lot of local families, who are having economic difficulties. And while we most often read about the problems of local businesses, we don't hear or read much at all, about what the Salvation Army, and its volunteers, are facing….particularly the food bank being in dire need of donations. What would we do without the Salvation Army's contribution to our community? What if the food bank closed? It would be great if it closed, in fact, because demand had been met, and nobody needed its services! If on the other hand, there was the same demand as today, we would legitimately be able to claim "a crisis," in our community? We don't want to think of this, but it's something we must recognize as potential in the future. What organization will step in to assist?

As long time supporters of the Salvation Army Food Bank program, (offering advisory assistance throughout the year), we do think about this a lot. We wonder if the Town of Gravenhurst truly appreciates the precarious situation, being handled by the Salvation Army, and the ongoing shortfalls meeting demands? It is a huge wish of ours, that Town Council would put this on the agenda, sometime soon, to learn more about these vulnerabilities……and seek out first hand knowledge of what this demand represents in real numbers, statistics over the years, and honest expectations for the future. In the event of another round of recession, which may already be happening, can we continue to expect the Salvation Army to carry the weight of this charitable service? Or should we be stepping up more than we have, to "help the Salvation Army help our community." It may be the case we need to read and re-read this statement, to fully appreciate that we don't have a plan "B" in town, in the event the Salvation Army may, at some point, need much more help than it gets presently. The citizens of this community need to know more, than they do presently, about this volunteer service, and all the "what ifs" down the road. We think the leadership, in this discussion, must come from the citizens themselves, as a committee, to make a compelling case, to Council, about the need to show greater support for the Food Bank Service……and to recognize that the Salvation Army has its limitations to help those in need. Currently, this is a huge gap of appreciation, in our daily lives here.

This isn't rhetoric or fear mongering. I know how to write that way, if I need to…….but this is a little reminder to town, our service clubs, church groups, and citizen associations, that we all need to know the truth here…….not simply expecting the press will handle all the news that's fit to print. There's a big story here but it won't make front page news. The Food Bank needs our help. We're going to give it our best shot, but we need your support on December 10th. We've once again, put together a Christmas Show for our hometown, and the proceeds will benefit the Food Bank. And let me tell you, to pull it off successfully, as in the past, we will count on support from musicians, stage-hand volunteers, parents of music students, sponsors to help offset the rental cost of the Opera House, and you folks, to come and occupy the 300 plus seats at the Opera House, we hope to fill that night.

For the past year, I have written a special feature column, published in a small but widely circulated magazine, called "Curious; The Tourist Guide," as a biography of Salvation Army missionary, Ada Florence Kinton, (who had a strong Muskoka connection), dedicated over 12 issues, to the king folks that operate the Gravenhurst Food Bank. While I had hoped the column would inspire folks to donate to our own food bank, as the paper is available in South Muskoka, it was aimed generally at encouraging readers to make Food Bank donations anywhere in the province. The Ada Kinton columns have all been re-printed on this blog-site, starting last December, and only just ending in the current November issue. Miss Kinton, who died shortly into the 1900's, gave her life to helping the less fortunate, a goodly portion working to help the destitute in Victorian Toronto, outreaching to the homeless from soup kitchens across the city. A talented artist, a more than capable art instructor, Ada Kinton could have easily made a profession from her artistic talents. But she was so deeply moved, seeing the ravages of poverty, first in England, and then in Canada, that she believed her best investment of heart and soul, was to work with the Salvation Army movement, to help those who could not help themselves. She is buried in an unassuming plot in a Huntsville Cemetery, few people today knowing much about the artist / missionary's devotion to the less fortunate. Possibly you would like to know more about this stalwart promoter of goodwill. You can go back to the December 2010 column on the blog-site, and find the entire collection re-published. And I have heard back from readers, that they did offer donations, after reading the columns. This is very gratifying.

The December 10th Christmas Concert, sponsored by Andrew Currie's Music, in Gravenhurst, is being dedicated to the memory of the kindly, Miss Kinton, in the hope it will inspire continuing donations to the Food Bank, here in Gravenhurst, and anywhere else there is a community Food Bank.

THE BIG SHOW

If you sit alone up in the empty house, deep in the cavernous heart of the Gravenhurst Opera House, with just dim stage-lights as illumination, it doesn't take long at all, for the imagination to kick in, and memories to flood into the cavernous, grandly arched hall. I can recall sitting in this exact spot, to see some of the best known performers in this country, electrifying the entertainment atmosphere. Some of the more philosophical historians, coming into this building might believe that, as a patina of the richly aged wood, these performances, the voices, have all become somewhat ingrained, such that it still resonates today…..if you listen patiently. The resonance of those combined voices, a deep vibration of past performances, the theatre and music that owned this hollow stage. It's part of the unseen heritage of this wonderful architecture, that these subtly haunting echoes, these milestones of all the acts, of once, and present, remain here when the curtain closes, and the house lights are brought down to total darkness. If you were to sit here, even in the dark, the only ghost to make an appearance, would be the friendly, combined spirit, of those good times past.

And when our boys, Andrew and Robert, hosts of the annual Christmas fundraising show, sit in these same seats, and pre-plan their concert, they incorporate it all into the Christmas theme. Otherwise it might be their choice to use another venue in town. It is this one…..the Opera House, that has so much provenance and cultural ambience, such that not having a Christmas show here, would be cheating this place of its legend of accommodation. Its place in the middle of our hometown. The Christmas Concert must be at the Opera House. We insist!

The lads think about the past decade of their own involvement with the Opera House, working here as apprentices, while at Gravenhurst High School, as staff members, and then as concert promoters for a wide variety of special events. They will sit at home, watching videos of these former fundraisers, and be compelled, literally, to make another booking for the very next community variety show. When they come into this entertainment chamber, at look up at the vacant stage, they recall all the friendships that have been established here, over the past decade, working with exceptional musicians, and so many, many volunteers, who help pull off the event. I can tell you, there's nothing like sitting in here, amidst all the memories, to help motivate future projects. This is very much the case for this year's Christmas Show, which again is a fundraiser for the Salvation Army Food Bank. They can't wait to get back on that stage with their mates. Their biggest joy, would be to look back, where they were sitting, and see a full house on the evening of December 10th…..the true measure of success, for all the work invested by so many.

Please join me at this blog-site, for more information on the planning for this year's show, Saturday, December 10th, beginning at 7 p.m. Admission is by cash or food donation….or both. The boys would be grateful for any corporate or business donations, to help offset rental costs. We understand the importance of money earned by the Opera House, to the taxpayers of our town, and we will not ask for a price reduction…..as has been our longstanding policy for Salvation Army Food Bank fundraisers. Our family businesses, of which there are three, chip in annually, to help offset these rental costs.

Thanks for all your support over the years.