Community News Excellence for Over a Decade SC OT T SDALE
PARA D ISE VA L L E Y
N O RTH P H O EN I X
C AR EF R EE
C AVE C R EEK
FO U N TAIN HILLS
ANTHE M
SE P TE MBE R 2013
SkySong Spreads Its Wings Phase III of Innovative Project
7
Arizona’s performing arts take center stage By Kathryn M. Miller
Camp Counselor Adventures
Creativity and innovation – two driving forces in the performing arts – were seen in the last few years as many organizations struggled to stay open. Some were unsuccessful; others, like Actors Theatre, took a step back, regrouped and are now preparing for a new season. “This is an exciting time for Actors Theatre and contemporary theatre in the Valley,” says Renee Gertsman, president of the Actors Theatre 2013-14 board of directors. “The board and artistic management took a very brave step in pulling back to rethink and redesign and we’re all very anxious to experience the outcome of this new strategic direction.” Arizona’s arts and culture organizations are significant contributors to economic health and competitiveness, generating $581,318,224 annually according to the Arizona Cultural Data Project (AZCDP) – and this figure represents less than half of active arts and culture organizations in Arizona.
52
In its report released in March, AZCDP ranked Arizona 50th in the nation in per capita state appropriations for arts and culture. But despite this ranking, the report concludes that, “Demonstrating resilience in the face of challenges, Arizona’s arts and culture sector embodies the best of American creativity and innovation.” An optimistic attitude is shared by many in the arts community. “I am cautiously optimistic,” says David Saar, founder and artistic director of Childsplay. “Last year was a good one for us, and signs look even better for this season.” But Saar recognizes that there are plenty of challenges ahead.
See Arizona Performing Arts, page 48
Scottsdale: A Digital Leader Awarded top honor with eCity award Arizona Restaurant Week
57
Scottsdale recently took top honors capturing the 2013 eCity Award from Google, an honor that recognizes the strongest online business community in each state. A variety of factors included the likelihood of small businesses to have a website, use a blog, promote themselves on a social network, sell goods directly from their web page and have a mobilefriendly website. Google and independent research firm Ipsos analyzed the online strength of local small businesses across the 50 states. For more information, visit www.google.com/ecities.