Build it and they will come — but, first, I need to sell a bunch of tickets!
One day, way back in 1995, a crowd of people was marching down the street and, normally, I would have been supportive. But that day, I was watching from my downtown office window and I scoffed to my colleague, “Good grief. Marching in protest of the local hockey team leaving town — really? Who cares?” Well. That colleague cared and told me so in no uncertain words, saying, “Amanda, if the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra was leaving town due to lack of funding, wouldn’t you be marching in the streets? Not everyone cares about music and not everyone cares about hockey, but both music and sports are essential parts of our city’s cultural capital.” Well. That shut me up. Because, of course, my colleague was right. Culture comes in all shapes and sizes and, while the finer points of public funding for a professional hockey team* versus public funding for a professional orchestra could be debated, the truth is that Winnipeg is a city big enough that it can — and should — support a bro...