Weekends in Danville can be kind of a sore spot with some folks. While we’ve got a growing downtown, complete with shops, restaurants, bars, even a nightclub, there is still a contingent of locals who make the weekly trek to Lexington or Louisville to have their fun rather than finding it in town. It’s certainly something as an ambassador for the Arts Center that I’d like to see change. Perhaps I’m biased by my non-car owning status, but I’m a firm believer that people shouldn’t have to drive an hour to have a good time on weekends!
Dear Danville: Don’t turn me into this person!
All that being said, this past weekend was one chock-full of stuff to do. On Friday, our Wild West exhibit was open until 6 pm, after which visitors could go grab a bite to eat or a drink at their choice of downtown establishments. Saturday, the Arts Center hosted a performance of “Beyond the Blue Mountains†reader’s theater, a collection of poems and short monologues written by Centre College Professor of Classics Jane Joyce. Because her writing is based off of authentic pioneer journals, the story of a Kentucky family of five and the people they met along the way to Oregon was especially moving and informative. The fact that the performance happened in our fully built-out Wild West frontier town was just icing on the cake. That same night, at nearby Pioneer Playhouse, Danville’s up-and-coming community Jazz band Jazzitude held its debut performance, which packed the house and birthed some new jazz fans to be sure. Having to choose between two performance options on a Saturday night? I love it!
Sunday was equally busy, with a matinee performance of “Beyond the Blue Mountains†(for all those people who went to see Jazzitude the night before!) as well as our monthly ballroom dance that evening. And of course, both Saturday and Sunday, Wild West was open, teaching kids and families about life on the American frontier in an interactive, artistic, and educational way.
While I know that every weekend can’t be quite so jam-packed with exciting, interesting, and artistic activity, I hope 2013 is a year with more weekends like this one. Danville IS the place to be all the time, and this weekend proved it to me. Bravo, Danville!
