I had such a great time last night.

Mohave Community College has created a foundation that hosts events for the purpose of raising funds for scholarships, arts facilities, sports facilities, etc, and raising public awareness of educational opportunity and promoting cultural diversity through the arts within the community. The hope is that people will gain a greater appreciation for the arts and lose their fear of...(open their minds so to speak)... things that don't fit within their scope of "acceptable" material for enjoyment. (I have a much broader taste in music, for example, than most people in the community and I get teased about my musical taste regularly. I'm such a fan of jazz. Very few people in the southern utah enjoy this genre of music.)

So, last night, the foundation hosted an event. It was a "black tie" affair featuring for entertainment, a 7 man choral group that sang black spirituals. The evening began with light

hors d'oeuvre's being served with a limited selection of wine. The choral group then sang for awhile. They then had an intermission where dessert and coffee were served, and then...surprise!..... a concert pianist played some Beethoven. It was wonderful. The choral group then finished their performance.

I enjoyed the music (and the food and wine) immensely. I was sitting there listening to the music and wanted to pinch myself to make sure it was real. I've loved black spirituals for as long as I can remember. I couldn't believe that little Centennial Park actually was having such an event. (I say that because Centennial Park is such a extremely conservative community.) It made the evening all the more enjoyable.

The professor who led the choral group is very excited about the abundance of musical talent in the community. He's so excited about it, he's coming back in the fall to continue teaching the choral group and is opening up another section for women. I'm excited enough about it that I'm planning on joining. I haven't had this kind of opportunity in a very long time and it's time I, again, branch out into things that I love and have a passion for.

...If I didn't have other priorities in my life, I would spend my time in the pursuit of enriching cultural experiences. I could "get lost" in this pursuit. However, kids tend to keep you grounded.