Originally published: The Record (Waterloo Region) - Arts, Tuesday, April 2, 2002, p. B4

By Martin De Groot

April is the cruelest month, T.S. Eliot once said.

I'm not sure what he meant. Something about "breeding lilacs out of the dead land," and "mixing memory with desire."

It never made much sense. As the first full month of spring, April is usually eagerly welcomed here in northern climes. There was certainly no hint of cruel disappointment in a bold exclamation I came across the other day:

April is Opera Month!

The proclamation came in a glossy brochure promoting an event called Opera Festival 2002, a new initiative involving a month-long showcase of opera performances in and around Toronto.

Organized in conjunction with a major conference that will bring opera professionals from all over the continent to the city later in the month, the festival includes presentations from various organizations, including the Canadian Opera Company, Opera Atelier, Tapestry New Opera and Opera Ontario.

Our part in the celebration takes place May 4, when the K-W Opera presents Bizet's The Pearl Fishers at the Centre in the Square.

Opera Festival 2002 is a laudable initiative. But aren't they encroaching on other people's territory?

April, as we all know, is National Poetry Month.

Has been for years. Down in the U.S., libraries, schools, bookstores and publishers in almost every state have been participating in a month-long celebration of the poet's art for the better part of a decade. Originally established by the American Academy of Poets, a version of this high profile campaign was introduced north of the 49th parallel by the League of Canadian Poets in 1999.

Hundreds of events are planned throughout the country for 2002, including a mass recitation of Dennis Lee's classic children's poem Alligator Pie involving Canadians from coast to coast (that happens today, which is International Children's Book Day).

The poets were there first. Now the opera folks are staking their claims. April, however, may be big enough for both. And more besides:

April is also National Math Awareness Month, National Humour Month, National Woodworking Month and International Guitar Month -- the list goes on and on.

Did I mention National Pecan Month?

In Kitchener-Waterloo, April has come to mean Brush With Art.

For the fourth year in a row, volunteers working with this home-grown grass roots campaign will be going out into the community with paint brushes in hand in order to raise funds to support the visual arts in our area.

In Guelph, the first week in April is the time when the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival returns.

Also in its fourth year, the 2002 version of the festival promises, once again, "to inspire, educate and excite children, adults, art lovers, tourists and dancers alike" with an ambitious program of workshops, discussions and performances in various city centre venues.

If there is one cultural prospect immediately ahead of us for which Eliot's baffling comment about April being the cruelest month does appear fitting in some way, it is the impending destruction of the Lyric Theatre in Kitchener. With regard to the historic significance of the building, it would be hard to add anything to Anthony Reinhart's thoughtful and informative essay in the Perspectives section in Saturday's Record.

It was interesting to learn that the sign that flashes "Lyric" in red, green and purple neon has been a dominant feature of the downtown streetscape only since April 15, 1965 -- 37 years to the day before the wrecking crew is scheduled to arrive.

I don't suppose there is any point in raising questions about the necessity of demolition. But what's the rush? Why are they so eager to get on with it?

And if there is really no other way, could we at least save that sign?

That flashing tower is one of the only distinctive landmarks this battered old burg still has. It should be carefully removed and stored away until the day arrives when someone comes forward with an appropriate use for it, just as they did for the artifact that now graces what we call the Clock Tower Common.

OPERA FESTIVAL 2002

Details of Opera Festival 2002 can be found at www.opera.ca.

A complete list of Canadian National Poetry Month events can be found at www.poets.ca. For information about the U.S. version, visit www.poets.com.

For tickets or more information about the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival, call 1-519-836-0788 or visit www.guelphcontemporarydancefestival.com.

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Martin DeGroot is co-host of Monday Night With the Arts on CKWR-FM 98.5 (Mondays at 7:30 p.m.). He comments on arts and culture Tuesdays in The Record. You can reach him by e-mail at: mdg@golden.net

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