art & society - Jan/Feb 2011

When I entered the Caesar’s Palace Hotel and Casino, the last thing on my mind was: Who will be dealing my blackjack cards? It was my first trip to Las Vegas, and I had a laundry list of activities on deck, including Elton John’s Red Piano Show and dinner at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill.

Here in the Midwest, the first few months of the New Year can be brutally cold, and the gray skies can cast a cloud over one’s attitudes and emotions. It’s a good time of the year to recharge one’s energies, no doubt!

I remember seeing “The Shaft”—that’s what we grew up calling it—standing there within the square on the Jefferson Street side of the courthouse. It was 1950, the Korean War was on, and I was heading for the United States Air Force.

Go to the theatre. Take a friend. Experience something you have never experienced before. The arts work in Peoria—only if we support them.