City notes: Special events add to Rosemount's quality

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Few things set the tone and quality of life in a community as much as its special events. When I read about cities that sometimes have trouble staging and affording community celebrations, I am very grateful that in Rosemount, we have many citizens who step forward to organize our events.

For years we’ve benefitted from outstanding events like Leprechaun Days and the Haunted Woods Trail. This Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m., thousands of children will enjoy the Trail in Central Park. It starts at the lot on South Robert across from the Steeple Center, where donations will be accepted and the first of the night’s candy will be handed out.

This is the 30th anniversary of the trail. But some of Rosemount’s efforts are newer. In the last few years, the Rosemount Area Arts Council has quickly organized to provide more outstanding special events in the community.

There’s only enough space here to mention of a few of them – check out the list at www.rosemountaac.org. Tickets are already on sale there for the second annual Christmas at the Steeple Center. But don’t wait too long to buy, because based on the debut last year, it’s likely to be a sellout. Two shows of family entertainment will take place on Saturday, Dec. 1. And there’s additional holiday programming later in the month.

Those events will cap off a busy year for the arts council. It brought band music to Schaar’s Bluff in the fall, bluegrass music to our summer, a mystery dinner theater to our winter, and meet-the-author events through the year.

A few months ago RAAC’s leaders shared with the city council some statistics on their work. They organized 25 events last year, 15 of them free to attend. Nine of the events took place at our local businesses, and $18,502 in supplies were purchased in town.

Add the indirect economic benefits of visitors drawn to Rosemount for these events, bringing customers to our local merchants, and you see the evidence that these arts efforts don’t just build community spirit and add to our culture – they give our economy a boost.

So the city council was pleased in August to enter a formal agreement with the RAAC to promote some events and provide free space in city facilities. And we get something new in return. The RAAC will fill the gap left because Rosemount hasn’t had a visitor’s center. Arts council volunteers will begin to operate Rosemount’s Front Porch – a presence at the Steeple Center where visitors and residents alike can pick up information about local businesses and events.

The RAAC is planning even more events for next year, including a theater company for older residents and farther down the road, for young people. We look forward to these special events throughout the year, and we congratulate our new partners in RAAC on their efforts, just as we appreciate the ongoing efforts of the volunteers who put on our other popular events.

The tag line on RAAC’s new website says it very well for all of us: “Building and Strengthening our Community through the Arts.”

Tags: rosemount, opinion, commentaries, government