By Ron Baker
Every town needs a cultural side. When we arrived in Muskoka in 2002 we were looking for new friends and experiences.
One way was to explore the local theatre through the Huntsville Festival of the Arts (HFA). We had always enjoyed concerts, opera and stage productions and wondered how we would satisfy that need as we moved to Huntsville.
It turned out to be no problem.
Initially, we bought several single-event tickets for the summer festival and thoroughly enjoyed the adventures of the Grandview Inn ‘stage.’ It was a wonderful new experience to watch the productions unfold with all the local volunteers helping with whatever they could.
The local enthusiasm was inviting. When asked by some friends to get involved at the Grandview location, the initial ‘hook’ was cast. I set up chairs, lent muscle to raising and striking the temporary stage, and soon found myself engrossed with the “let’s put on a show” mentality.
That was the year the decision to build a downtown theatre was made.
The backstage buzz on opening night at the Algonquin Theatre with all the local dignitaries and performers was exhilarating. My eyes were opened to the importance of the Huntsville Festival of the Arts’ significance to our town’s future through the enrichment of the local performance scene.
Now, as an HFA board member, I have started to participate in growing and enhancing the festival and I couldn’t be more excited. The festival is a wonderful example of community spirit.
Did you know, for instance, that the Huntsville Festival of the Arts:
• produced 43 events at the new theatre in the 2006/07 year?
• partnered with the theatre in promoting a broad spectrum of entertainers?
• raises 25 percent of its revenue from local business, individuals and the marché in May?
• runs a competition for local young performers for scholarship awards to continue their studies in the arts?
• Organizes more than a dozen events in local schools annually to foster the arts, such as the Battle of the Books, Kaleidoscope, Slam Poetry, concert performances and master classes?
The arts play a pivotal role in forming our town’s unique character. The Muskoka experience is made much richer through the presence of an active performing scene located in many venues around Huntsville such as Jazz in the Garden, Arts Splash, the Muskoka Novel Marathon and the Arts Walk.
The annual summer festival has become a powerful economic driver to the town. Permanent citizens and seasonal visitors are drawn to the theatre on show nights, as friends and families come to see the broad variety of performances and enjoy the warm summer’s ambiance on Main Street for shopping, dining and late-night treats. Could the festival be better? For sure. And you can help us make HFA better still. We will soon be asking for your input in a survey to discover your favourites, concerns and ideas for future performances.
Please join and participate in YOUR Festival of the Arts, as the stages grow, diversity increases, popularity swells and the word ‘buzz’ brings a new dimension to Huntsville’s future.
