The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/27337
Sold-out Gordon Lightfoot concert offers hope for the future of Foothills As Janet Hurley-Quackenbush stood on the stage of the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center on Market Street, one arm outstretched to the ceiling, the weight of empty space hung around her. She and many others hope to see that space filled with a new set of curtains before long. Hurley-Quackenbush, who is the theater’s build- ing manager, knows that those curtains will come as the result of a successful March 31 concert, Foothills’ largest yet, which will feature legendary Canadian folk singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. “He’s a perfect fit for this facility,” she said, “the kind of artist that the creators of this building envisioned having here. It’s great to hit that goal.” The fulfillment of that goal has been a long process, one that called for a new direction and sense of action in the minds of those who have a managerial stake in Foothills. It is a place that many Oneonta residents have become used to seeing stand merely as an ex- pensive failure, an unused building, and a monolithic reminder of the city’s inability to turn a legitimate arts venue into a viable revenue generator. After repeated attempts to get off the ground had soured, a new board of directors was installed last year, led by Oneonta Mayor Dick Miller. “At that point, when the new board took over, Foot- hills had $27 in the bank and $70,000 in bills,” Miller said. Since then, the struggle has been difficult but some- what successful, as most of the bills have been paid, op- erations have continued and important events, such as the Lightfoot concert, have been planned and staffed. The focus of those overseeing the building has now shifted primarily to getting the building fully equipped, as in the case of the stage curtains, as well as continu- ing to host programs that will spark local and regional interest. Also, it would seem that Foothills has finally found the right people to allow it to thrive. “We could’ve hosted this event a year ago, but nobody came forward with a plan to do it,” Miller sad. “And when Ben Guenther and Jon Weiss proposed it, we jumped at the chance.” Guenther, one of the Sam Spokony The theater at Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center’s 624 seats will be full at the sold-out Gordon Lightfoot concert on March 31. 16 O-Town Scene March 17, 2011 owners of Five Star Subaru on Chestnut Street and an Oneonta resident since 1986, has played a vital role from outside the board of directors in piecing together the March 31 concert. In order to do that, he has made clear from the outset a new direction for Foothills, as well as pushing the event forward in a more pro- nounced fashion. He said he knew he needed a certain kind of show to do that. “We wanted to do something big,” he said. “There are other performers of (Lightfoot’s) technical caliber, but we didn’t want a local or a regional name. We wanted the name recognition, and wanted to make Foothills stick in people’s minds as a result of that.” After originally coming up with the idea of booking Lightfoot, Guenther quickly realized he needed help from a music industry professional, and began to col- laborate with Weiss, who handles booking for and is a partner in the Oneonta Theatre. Also significant were the contributions made by the event’s sponsors, which, along with Five Star Subaru and the Oneonta Theatre, included Eastman General Contractors, Mirabito Energy Products, A.O. Fox Hos- pital, Clark Companies and NYCM Insurance. “There’s so much involved, and a lot of moving parts,” Guenther said. “Bringing the people and fund- ing together is such a difficult process, and that’s why this couldn’t have been a success without the working relationship I had with Jon and the sponsors.” The success of the concert seems all but guaranteed at this point. Foothills, which seats 624, has officially sold out for Lightfoot’s March 31 concert, and, ac- cording to Miller, will also include temporary seating built under the supervision of the code enforcement office, allowing the venue to sell even more tickets than the board of directors had originally anticipated. The tickets were distributed within two levels of seat- ing _ gold ($75) and silver ($60) _ and the revenue resulting from the sell-out will, even after paying Lightfoot, successfully fund the new curtains that will be so important to the future development of Foot- hills. Continued on Page 17