Commentary

Thanks and other matters

October 2, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Let me begin with sincere thanks to Theatre Orangeville and the Town of Orangeville for their kind appreciation and recognition of my writing about the arts and, especially, Theatre Orangeville for many years – 25 in fact (or slightly more, but who’s counting).

Thank you so much for the tribute – it was a wonderful surprise.

Let me also say right here, right now that I am not finished writing about the arts. It is like breathing, instinctive, wholly imbued with the importance of the arts, how every aspect of nature supports and inspires artistry. Really. Finally, it is acknowledged that birds create patches of design that seem to have no practical function. Just a design, instinctively doing art.

Art, only three letters to name what we are at our very core – artists. Whether or not you wield a brush covered in colour, a chisel to carve in stone, a pen to blow life on to a sheet of paper, a fire to bring forth a cup or a plate, at your soul level, you are still an artist.

Do you sing, dance, or speak on stage, or orchestrate how that action will be lit – do you spin the dials to make it all sound perfect – maybe not, but you can sit in the audience and drink it all in, feeding back your own contribution with your applause, laughter, tears – by simply being there.

Music – gosh – we copy nature at every note we ever sing, play, perform, and we are singing all the time. From babyhood to antique, we are singing silly songs and learning to clap our hands to the rhythm; we grow up singing and listening and learning what our culture is by the music that is all around us, making a difference to our mood, the day, our lives.

It seems from a look at the curriculum offered in both the high schools here in town that there are good opportunities to be in arts courses; that art is alive and well in our schools. Just go for a walk around Orangeville and see how important – how front and centre art is here.

I believe much of the cornucopia of displayed art in Orangeville is inspired by the fact of there being not only our own professional theatre, Theatre Orangeville, in the centre of town, but also community theatres right in town, Orangeville Music Theatre, and in villages nearby: Caledon Town Hall Players in Caledon Village; Century Church Theatre in Hillsburgh.

The Alton Mill Arts Centre with its list of working artists and tenants in their individual studios can boast to be one of the most notable art galleries within this broad region.

People living and visiting here are so lucky, but with this comes, naturally, responsibility: to support the arts.

In town, we have Maggiolly Arts Supplies on Broadway with the shop’s window featuring local artists. The store specializes in a series of arts lessons.

Dragonfly Arts on Broadway is home to artists with their “mini studios” toward the back of the shop. There are windows here, too, with beautiful displays, and inside are three wall spaces for displays and many shelves laden with treasures.

Glasscraft on Broadway is another marvel with its “Stained Glass Studio.” Items of joy are all made on site – all sorts of curiosities and beauty.

There are two music stores: Aardvark Music and Culture, which calls itself a music store and school, encompassing repairs and lessons, where one can sell and purchase used LPs.

Broadway Music informs patrons that it is the largest music school and the oldest music store in Orangeville. Owners, well-known singer Heather Katz and Michael Griffin, are committed to making music accessible to everyone, in the belief that music enriches all our lives. Come and see their Wall of Ukuleles.

We all have to be paid for effort. A roof over one’s head costs, and eating every day costs. Buildings that are homes bing in bills; buildings that house arts need funding. With a town that is essentially an art walk for sculptures and murals, and even the utility boxes are covered in the work produced by the working artists in town, who live here and who visit – we should remember that.

As an economic engine, the arts here bring in thousands of dollars, with events like the Blues and Jazz Festival kicking off a summer of festivals and activities. Orangeville is becoming – has become! – a destination for Torontonians, people coming up from Brampton, and who knows where else.

The Town of Orangeville is doing a tremendous job of getting the word out far and wide, letting people know what a treat it is to spend time here, patronizing shops and restaurants, and finding such pleasure in just being here.

Buy tickets and subscriptions to the theatres; take advantage of all there is to appreciate.

What we must remember is the other engine, without which so much of what does happen in town would not, and that is the volunteers who become involved in every show, festival, and event that ever happens here. Kudos to them all – they deserve all the thanks they receive.

Yes, I am still writing about the arts. And the environment: the joy and the danger. I love doing individual interviews and telling Orangeville’s stories.

Thanks for reading.

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