Feeding our need for the arts

EVENING SUN ONLINE, October 17, 2007

     It wasn't all that long ago that art in Gettysburg meant the Cyclorama, or the battle canvases of Dale Gallon and Mort Kunstler.
     Night life in Hanover? Other than the occasional show at the Eichelberger, that's meant a Belgian beer in a local bar or an evening of dirt-track racing.
     The times, though, they are a-changing. Gettysburg is on its way to becoming a recognized regional center of the arts. And Hanover, while it might never draw the kinds of crowds that visit its neighbor to the west, isn't really all that far behind.
     Just a couple of weeks ago, Gov. Ed Rendell hosted the state's annual art awards in Gettysburg, the smallest town ever to host the event. Gettysburg College's Majestic Theater reopened its historic stage last year to live performances, and the governor paid homage to the theater and to art patrons David and Jennifer LeVan, for whom the theater is now named. To coincide with the governor's awards, there were artists, dancers and musicians from across York and Adams counties. And very little of it had to do with Abraham Lincoln or the Civil War.
     Now there's news the old theater in downtown Hanover at long last has new owners bent on returning it to its former glory. They say they want to reopen the theater by December of next year, bringing live entertainment to the fading downtown.
     That's welcome news, especially at a time merchants there are trying to bring new energy - and new customers - to the borough's center. Chamber of Commerce President Gary Laird says the theater has always been seen as a key to revitalizing the downtown.
     And coincidentally, the Hanover Symphony, which has spent the last several years performing at South Western High School, is returning to the Eichelberger Center for the Performing Arts. Two theaters within walking distance of each other could produce a kind of synergy that gives Hanover a new lease on night life. Shops and eateries might stay open later on show nights, and even at other times, businesses could benefit as locals get back in the habit of going downtown. It's like restaurant owners say - they welcome competition nearby because it draws new customers to the area - customers that are likely to try their fare next time they come downtown.
     There's a myth that art and money don't mix - that the proper condition of the artist is one of poverty and artistic purity. But as quintessential starving artist Vincent Van Gogh once remarked, "I see more and more that my work goes infinitely better when I am properly fed."
     Art, properly fed, can enrich the pocketbook as well as the soul.