Investing in the arts

When you think about dance, music, theater and visual arts—and how they enhance our community through museums, theaters, concerts and galleries—there is no question the arts are good for business.

Business and economic development research consistently demonstrates the importance of a vibrant arts community in helping a city to build and sustain a vital business community. Besides helping to improve our quality of life and being a source of pride for a community, the arts help promote understanding of other people. The arts preserve cultural heritage and provide opportunities to share them with others, to socialize and contribute to lifelong learning in children and adults.

There’s a Chinese proverb that says, “I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand.” This saying reminds me of the limitless opportunities the arts provide our community—especially our children—through the process of experiencing the arts in our mind, body, hands and souls. This is why we need to support the Community Fund for the Arts.

The Community Fund for the Arts is a subsidiary of the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, whose primary mission is to raise money for leading arts and cultural organizations. This effort is led by business and community volunteers who are committed to providing much-needed grant funding, artist support and materials to continuously enrich our city. All of these activities and people help to shape the culture of our community. With the recent growth in our region and increased pressures and competition the arts face, it’s going to take existing donors to step up their commitment, and a generation of new donors to contribute to the campaign.

Derek Gordon and the Arts Council have set a 2007 campaign goal of $600,000. With our help they can get there. CFA now supports and funds 14 different organizations, including Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre, Swine Palace Productions, WRKF-FM 89.3, Louisiana Art & Science Museum and Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, to name a few.

If you’d like to learn more, or make a donation, visit artsbr.org, or call the Arts Council at 344-8558.

This year’s Best

As you’ve seen on our cover, this issue is dedicated to the Best of 225 Awards.

Our Best of 225 Awards debuted in July 2006, and have been a smashing success. You’ll see restaurants, shops, nightclubs and offices all over Baton Rouge proudly displaying their Best of 225 plaques.

A Best of 225 Award means that business or person truly has won over the hearts of Baton Rougeans. It means they received more votes than any of the competition in a random sample survey conducted by a professional market research firm.

This year, the Best of 225 Awards are bigger and better than last year. We asked our readers to nominate their favorites in more than 60 categories, from po-boys to local bands, from gourmet dining to the best cup of coffee.

We’ve added some new categories and freshened up some of the old ones. There are some surprises, some new faces and some old favorites. And as always, our news staff picked some of their favorites as well.

You’ll want to save this special issue of 225 and use it as a resource. It’ll give you new ideas for where to meet the gang for lunch, where to plan a romantic dinner for two, but most importantly, where to find the hidden gems all over Baton Rouge and beyond.

Thanks to your participation and your passion for the things you love about Baton Rouge, we’ve written the next chapter in what is quickly becoming a favorite Baton Rouge tradition.