ar·dent adj \ˈär-dənt\ Definition of ARDENT
1: characterized by warmth of feeling typically expressed in eager zealous support or activity
I have long considered myself an ardent friend to the performing arts in Savannah. However, recent online discussions with other public commentators specializing in our local A&E offerings have led me to wonder — what does it mean exacty to be such an “ardent friend?”
Does it mean that one must attend each and every (or even most) of the almost countless concerts, film screenings, theatrical productions, book readings, art openings, dance recitals, spoken-word showcases, open mic nights, charitable fundraisers, theme and block parties, social networking and technology symposiums, music festivals, happenings, and public cultural planning sessions that take place each and every year in our fair city?
Or does it mean that one must merely do their level best to keep up with, spread word of, and —when possible or affordable— patronize as many of those events as they can?
For me, it’s the latter — and I know an awful lot of other folks who fit into that category whom I’d surely classify as “ardent friends of the performing arts in Savannah.”
They’re interior decorators and bartenders, graphic designers and taxicab drivers, working musicians and furniture store owners, real estate agents and desk clerks at bed and breakfast inns, architects and vintage clothing store owners, wine merchants and unemployed shipping executives, pharmaceutical reps and sound engineers, landscapers and caterers, waiters and waitresses, fine art painters and kayak tour guides, college professors and substitute teachers, citizen advocates and bankruptcy attorneys, property developers and radio announcers, vocal coaches and alarm system installers, advertising salespeople and baristas, non-profit administrators and yes, even newspaper writers.
All of us play important roles (some smaller, some larger, and some downright pivotal) in growing, maintaining and encouraging attendance at —as well as offering forthright and heartfelt criticism of— a surprisingly diverse range of cultural events in this most beautiful and frustratingly flawed town we call home.
I respectfully suggest that no one in Savannah, Ga. who puts their money, time or merely their heart where their mouth is in regards to our local A&E scene need be made to feel guilty, marginalized or somehow out of touch for having the temerity to speak their mind about what they do or do not care for about that very scene — especially when they’ve been down in the trenches for years laying as solid a foundation as the Powers That Be would allow for the supposed financial and cultural renaissance that a lot of recent, highly motivated transplants seem eternally convinced is right around the corner.
