Putting our money where our heart is...

My son Isaac (on right) and his best friend Roman, continuing the tradition of attending the Parade of Lights together.

  The holiday season is a great time to introduce culture to the young ones!

  Among a slew of holiday parties last week, I also got to attend the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra's Nutcracker on Friday AND Saturday, and the Parade of Lights in downtown Flagstaff.  And I saw many kids at every juncture; they were skipping, holding hands, waving.  They were wearing holiday dresses, bows and ties, and often up-staged their parents with their fanciness and excitement.  It was pretty special. 

  I'm a parent too.  I value the arts and one of my favorite things has been engendering a love for the arts in my son.  I feel very lucky to be able to do that here.  We are so blessed to have a vibrant arts community in Flagstaff.  We have a premier performance hall with Ardrey Auditorium, we have the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, we have the Coconino Center for the Arts, Theatrikos, and even a large and thriving downtown art scene.    There's even a new local songwriting mentorship program called Bold Moon Music--just one of the many ways that our community gives back.

 And don't forget about my alma mater, the entire College of Arts and Letters, at NAU.  The college provides film, theatre, art, music and lectures to everyone in the campus and Flagstaff community.  It's pretty cool that we're able  to provide all of that cultural opportunity for our children (and ourselves.) 

  It's pretty cool that the people of this town value the arts enough to sustain it all.  Because, let's face it folks.  The government is not going to be able to take care of the entire bill.  We need to advocate for more arts-spending, but we also need to step up and take responsibility for it ourselves. 

  Tradition brings beauty to the holiday season.  To me, tradition equals culture.  When you are busy getting all of your gifts for everyone, don't forget the special gift of a cultural experience, and the people who provide that experience for us!  Please consider making a donation to one of your favorite cultural entities.  Give the ultimate gift of the season, one that keeps on giving throughout the whole year.

  Let's put our money where our heart is!