Everyone wins with Question 5

Don Fowler
Posted 10/29/14

When we moved to Rhode Island in 1965, the fledgling Trinity Repertory Company and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra were two of the handful of arts and cultural venues in our new home.

It …

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Everyone wins with Question 5

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When we moved to Rhode Island in 1965, the fledgling Trinity Repertory Company and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra were two of the handful of arts and cultural venues in our new home.

It took nearly 50 years, but now Rhode Islanders can rejoice in living in one of the major cultural centers in the country. Our Tony Award-winning Trinity and our nationally acclaimed Philharmonic have grown and flourished over the years and have been joined by dozens of new artistic and cultural organizations.

Within the last few years we have seen the closed movie house in Cranston’s Rolfe Square transformed into a state-of-the-art performing arts center.

We have witnessed the transformation of two Rolfe Street storefronts into centers for the arts and theatre.

We have watched an old warehouse on Warwick’s Jefferson Boulevard magically turned into one of the premiere venues for large-scale Broadway musicals and other performing arts events.

A short ride to Warren is worth the trip to see the quality plays presented both upstairs and downstairs at 2nd Story Theatre.

An even shorter trip to Pawtucket offers the opportunity to see cutting edge plays in a renovated old armory at Gamm Theatre.

On Election Day, November 4, voters will have an opportunity to vote yes on Question 5, which will authorize a $35 million bond to fund improvements at Arts and Preservation sites across Rhode Island. Even if you are not a patron of the arts, improvements made to facilities that house them will create nearly 600 permanent jobs, 600 temporary jobs, and will add $47 million in annual economic activity to the entire state, according to the RI Coalition for Arts & Preservation. Five million dollars set aside for historic preservation grants will help restore some of our treasured historical assets.

Rhode Island has become a “Vibrant community for artists,” according to Trinity’s artistic director Curt Columbus, who has helped to build a coalition of artists, educators and lovers of the arts.

In my travels to arts events around the state, I am always impressed by the support that the various organizations give each other. Now they all need our support.

Please vote yes on Question 5.

(Don Fowler has been the Arts and Entertainment writer for the Herald and Beacon since 1977).

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