See the update to this blog: Stones to Mountains:-)
I was just reading a local news release, and it appears the unemployment in my home county, Flagler County, Florida is now the highest in the state, and close to the highest in the nation. Two years ago, this was the fastest booming county in the country, full of new jobs, new construction, new shops and plenty of optimism about the future. You could smell it in the air! The grand openings were truly grand, and it seemed that money was plentiful. This was two short years ago...
Why am I writing this, and how is it relevant to the title of this post?
Here goes: I feel like a fish out of water, trying to splash on rock solid ground, not yet realizing that the terrain has changed, or not knowing how to adapt to the new surroundings. I market things for a living - that's all I know, and up until the last few weeks, I thought I was pretty darn good at it. A few months ago, my agency, which consists mostly of my sweet husband and myself, was asked to promote a Jazz Festival for a regional not for profit organization, NEFJA. They have been around for over twenty years, and the festival coming up in the beginning of May would be their 3rd... How hard could it be, right?
Our oldest plays piano, and, when given a choice of music to play, will always gravitate towards jazz. For most of his childhood, my mom took it upon herself to pay for his music lessons - a gift for him of sorts, and she's been doing it for a decade now, for which I am extremely grateful, as there have been moments when I couldn't have done that. Knowing that all proceeds from the events go towards giving college scholarships to deserving music students who may otherwise not be able to pursue music - made our decision all the more simple.
So for the past two months we have been trying to raise funds to bring Freddy Cole, Eddie Henderson, Vince Gardner etc to play in our own back yard, and it's not cheap. But it's been depressing to say the least! Calling on the same businesses that sponsored it last year only to find out they are in foreclosure or out of business makes it even worse.... There is simply no money here for charity, and with the music programs slashed in schools - very little opportunity for anyone to pursue the arts, which brings me to my point:
The arts and music inject a healthy dose of optimism into any place and its people, always have, but when it is needed the most, no one can afford to foot the bill... So what does one do, especially when it comes to helping preserve an endangered art form? No one here will die if the festival doesn't happen this year; most people's lives will remain essentially the same, except for a handful of kids who are practicing on a used trumpet somewhere in an empty room, and who have dreams of being on the stage at Lincoln Center, or in front of a class full of dreamy eyed idealists. Kids who have yet to learn that the ability to enjoy and create art is also predicated on money... If this was in a metropolitan place with news agencies and millions of people - it would probably not be difficult to get Oprah Winfrey and Big Give to contribute, or Bill Gates or Steve Jobes, or any number of people and corporations who have contributed to great causes in the past. But this place is rather small, and the press no longer cares to talk about it since it's not growing anymore - it's shrinking... But the people haven't changed, and the necessity for love, music, humanity remains stronger than ever...
If anyone has any fundraising ideas we've not yet explored, please shoot me an email.
The web address for the festival is: http://www.legacyjazz.com/ - and contrary to my tone, it will happen, one way or another. It would be great if this optimism and certainty were backed by some green paper coming in.:-) Thanks for listening.
See the update to this blog: Stones to Mountains:-)
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Sounds like you need to pack up and move to Washington State! We'll live the light on for you.