A Holiday Treat for the Performing Arts Center 1/4/08     I wanted to personally thank all those that have been working so hard this past year in seeing the progress made towards the building of a performing Arts Center for Estes Park. On December 20th, 2007 the Stanley Hotel and their staff did a fantastic job in pulling out the stops for a benefit concert in the Concert Hall. Some 30 well-trained voices filled the hall with a magical performance of both traditional and non-traditional holiday music. The Ars Nova singers of Boulder CO came to give of themselves their time and share their honed talents to the appreciative audience of some 250 people. When asked how many people were from out of town about 50 raised their hands, of those 50 nearly all of them said they had had dinner in town, and of those there were perhaps a dozen that raised their hands when asked if they would be staying the night.   That night was truly magical with the fine acoustics of the space, and the work the Stanley did to make it special. A full bar, hot coffee and tea accompanied with whipped cream put a smile on anyone’s face that cold and blustery eve. At intermission, everyone was treated to an assortment of holiday cookies and goodies! The concert raised nearly $2,100 in cash donations, but more importantly was the gift of music and the prospect of “things to come.” It gave inspiration and hope.   John Wilkens, managing director of Ars Nova, re-iterated the statement already used time and again with the words “build it and they will come”. He noted that so many groups from the front range, like Ars Nova, would love to come and perform in the beautiful mountain setting of Estes Park.   To my tireless working board, the town and its work towards this facility, the over 300 contributors to-date, the fine organizations within our community that have rallied to put on fund-raising events I thank all of you. The question of “Will this Theater be Built?” has been answered by all of you! It now only awaits adequate funding and your continued enthusiasm. Thanks to all of you that have shown your support of the project. May we all be blessed with a new home for our deserving arts community in the near future!   Sincerely yours, Christopher W. Wood Chairman Supporters of the Performing Arts, Inc.