The Centre took a soft opening approach that let the city get used to the place. when the “official” opening took place they pulled out all the stops and the place looked great.
The hope being fanned at city hall is that they can come up with a Cultural Plan that depends heavily on the role the Performing Arts Centre will play in making Burlington more of a destination.
The Cultural Plan and the Downtown Core Commitment are two prongs the city hopes can be used to get a grip on a business development model that will bring some life to the downtown core and move beyond relying on RibFest and the Sound of Music Festival to generate traffic.
The Sound of Music boasts that it brings more than $6 million to the city (a bit of a stretch that can’t be validated because SOM chooses not to release the complete report that set out that $6 million figure).
These four additions to the Performing Arts centre Board of directors augers well. Having a working musician amongst them might loosen up some of the tighter psyches on the Board and will give them a perspective they could well use.
The city’s interests are represented by Mayor Goldring and Councillor Rick Craven along with city manager Jeff Fielding.
Good luck in the year ahead – you are all going to need it.
Great for business development…but not a minute’s experience from any of them in the entertainment business.
Editors note: Mr Roper revised his comment and added:
My error…looks like Mr. Simmons does.