The federal budget was announced March 22, and it contains billions of dollars for the arts, billions of dollars for infrastructure, and significant money to promote tourism. What if there was a project in the Niagara region that encompassed all three of those things?
There is, kind of. Not so long ago the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre were pushing for a project that would bring their art to Niagara-on-the-Lake for summer performances. The idea was to emulate the wildly successful offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orchestra - Tanglewood.
It was known as Project Niagara, or Tanglewood North. The land was to be donated by Parks Canada, a beautiful location right on Lake Ontario. The symphonies would play in a 2,400 seat amphitheatre.
Part of the cost of the project would be doing something with the sewage lagoons presently on the site. Maintaining sewage lagoons seems like it may fall into the category of unsexy but crucial infrastructure projects our Prime Minister was promising before budget day. Tanglewood North would also require some new roads for access, and that area could really use some new roads.
Bringing two world-class symphonies to the region would be absolutely huge and would be an amazing compliment to the Shaw Festival and the wineries of the area. The prestige of having that kind of world-class presence could only help to bolster the already positive image of local wine operations.
Promoting gambling interests is not something I like to do, but the clientele that would attend the symphony may translate to a significant amount of added play in Salon Privé.
The chief executive officer of the National Arts Centre, Peter Hernndorf, remains the same. There is new leadership at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, with Jeff Melanson in the CEO post.
Tanglewood North was a great project when it was conceived, and remains a great project today. Maybe with the new focus on the arts the project can finally have its moment. It would be a win for the National Arts Centre, a win for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and a win for the region.
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