Culture

Attendance Soars At Bloomington Arts Events

The newly renovated theater in the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts has many exciting national artists on the bill for the 2007-08 season.

The Bloomington community has come together‚ much like the instruments blending in an orchestra‚ to form a comprehensive and impressive arts program with the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts serving as conductor.

“You can see a live performance practically any day of the week in this community‚” says BCPA marketing director Joel Aalberts. “BCPA is the anchor of our cultural district.”

Following a 2006‚ $15 million renovation of the Shrine Temple‚ a 1920s historic 1‚200-seat theater‚ attendance of BCPA programs has soared. That trend is expected to continue with the completion of Festival Park – the largest green space in downtown Bloomington‚ which will feature an amphitheater for outdoor performances.

Rounding out the Cultural District is the renovation of a former doctor’s office for a Creativity Center‚ the only facility of its kind in Illinois outside Chicago. When complete‚ the center will offer space for music and art lessons‚ rehearsals – anything that will help promote the arts.

“We’ve been trying to develop a broader arts mind in the community‚ and the numbers are phenomenal‚” Aalberts says. He credits the rise in attendance in part to BCPA’s partnerships with schools (90 schools and 10‚000 students attended BCPA performances last year)‚ children’s theater‚ three summer youth projects‚ the youth symphony‚ the community concert band‚ the Academy for Music and the Arts‚ Illinois State University‚ Twin Cities Ballet‚ nine theater groups – the list goes on.

Building arts support requires recognizing that today’s children are tomorrow’s patrons. “When you get people accustomed to coming to the theater when they are young‚ they’ll come when they are older‚” Aalberts says.

“The city leadership and the donors saw how important the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts is to the quality of life and the economic vitality of our downtown and our community‚” says Bruce Marquis‚ executive director. “I know we will continue to generate excitement throughout central Illinois. I am grateful to the community members creating the foundation of support‚ to the Cultural Commission and to our more than 200 volunteers who continue to be excited.”

Part of that excitement is due to the impressive lineup of performances. The schedule includes the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis‚ Hal Holbrook in “Mark Twain Tonight‚” the Glenn Miller Orchestra‚ Suzy Boggus‚ the Robert Cray Band and many more. Outside the conventional performance spectrum are comedian Kathy Griffin and author David Sadaris‚ who tours only one month of the year.

“We try to be responsible with the resources given to us‚ and we work to get something of interest to a broad sector of our population‚” Aalberts says.

For more information on programs and the performance schedule‚ visit www.cityblm.org/bcd.

Story by Wes Aldridge
Photo by Betsy Williams

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