January off to a roaring start
Most Januarys get off to a slow start, but this is not one of them. Thanks to the Youth Actors Company, the Douglass Theatre and the Macon Film Guild, not to mention the Macon Arts Alliance, Mercer University and others, 2017 is going to positively explode with activity, getting the new year off to a highly impressive start.
When it comes to arts and entertainment, the midstate continues to excel. As fellow columnist Melanie Byas pointed out last week, we are fortunate to live in a community so rich in the arts.
Last year was a particularly good one, with several organizations coming into being and still others making long strides forward. The only real setback was the dissolution of the bond between the Macon Symphony Orchestra and its Youth Orchestra. We can only hope that wiser heads will soon prevail.
Meanwhile, we’re looking at a month of great stuff. YAC’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” at Theatre Macon runs Jan. 13-22, the MSO’s annual pops concert (“Disco & Motown”) is set for Jan. 21, Mercer Opera will present Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Gondoliers” Jan. 13-15, and much-loved pianist Edward Eikner will appear in the Joan Stockstill Godsey Piano Series on Jan. 24.
January is also a superb time to check out some events that we may not have attended previously, such as the Metropolitan Opera HD broadcasts or the Macon Film Guild screenings (both at the Douglass Theatre) or the Tubman Museum’s exhibitions, currently showing works by Middle Georgia Art Association members in “Full Spectrum II.”
SPREAD THE WORD
If we need to improve, it’s not that we necessarily need more events, it’s that we need to beat our drum louder. I am astonished at the number of local folks I meet each week who have no idea of what wonderful stuff is taking place around them in Middle Georgia.
When it comes to informing people in the surrounding area — especially metro Atlanta — the situation is more dire. If we need a New Year’s resolution, there it is: Hire a go-getter (maybe on the staff of Macon Arts Alliance) to tell our story in such places as Southern Living, Atlanta Magazine, Creative Loafing and so on.
It would pay for itself in short order.
GOLD STAR AWARD
A group that knows how to spread good news is the Friends of the Library. Recent editions of “The Bookworm” newsletter have included a column by library director Jennifer Lautzenheiser that is chock full of statistics and other library developments. Lautzenheiser especially grasps the importance of nurturing young readers.
Contact Larry Fennelly at LarryFennelly@avantguild.com.
This story was originally published January 4, 2017 at 11:08 AM with the headline "January off to a roaring start."