The quality and quantity of theatre and music in British Columbia is amazing. This spring the Victoria Opera gave a rousing production of Verdi's Nabucco. The Victoria Operatic Society has been at it for 56 years. Just finished was a revue, On Broadway, and during the past few years an excellent production of Porter's Anything Goes, and La Cage aux Folles. Vancouver Opera just finished a wonderful job of The Magic Flute.

Although these cities offer a huge amount of theatre and music for sale, there is quite a bit of free stuff to be found. . For instance Vancouver presents summer productions of Shakespeare. There are day concerts at the Art Museum. It would be hard to be bored on the West Coast. One supposes that U.S. cities have a lot also. For instance Chicago seems awash with culture. The old Chicago Library, now a polished Cultural Center vibrates with interesting fare. The long running Dame Myra Hess Concerts are free each Wednesday afternoon (also broadcast). On Mondays a wide selection of chamber music, opera, art song, and solos have full houses. There are free evening concerts in the Randolph Café that attract the down town residents; Grant Park sees all kinds of concerts. For the last four years they've added a month of night and afternoon dance concerts. There are even free dance lessons given on a huge open-air dance floor before the concerts... Salsa, Middle Eastern Hungarian, African Juju, Polish, Greek, Jitterbug, Swing, Cha Cha, Fox Trot, Barndance, Mambo, Rumba, Tango, Jive, Waltz. Non-stop exercise.

And if that were not sufficient, silent films (Pandora's Box, Metropolis, with live music); Art exhibits; all kinds of Asian music and art, an International Gospel Festival in June. And that is just to top of the pile.

I wonder if anyone has tried to catalogue all the events to be found in San Francisco, Phoenix, St. Louis, Boise, New York and elsewhere throughout the land? Fascinating.