Half a Century in the Arts

What an amazing thing to be working in an organization that can talk in terms of a century.  Yes, this year we are officially only half way there but the intention is clear.  This is an institution created to inform and inspire the community for years to come, living in a building whose original purpose was the arts.

Woodstock Town Hall was built in 1894 as the Woodstock Opera House.  It was built as a cornerstone to the town. It has been the center of our community throughout our history and remains integral to our growth.  One of the many unique characteristics of Vermont is that our history feels alive, tangible, and essential.  There are no strip malls or fads that dot our landscape.  We are thoughtful and appreciative of the wealth of heritage and the people who came before us to steward this land.  And I am incredibly honored to continuing the tradition of stewardship through Pentangle.

We are all stewards of this community.  The fact that this configuration of people ended up in this sweet town at this moment in time, makes us both blessed and lucky.  It’s a collective responsibility and whether we’ve been here five years or fifty we have a responsibility to make sure that Woodstock does not just maintain the integrity of the sweet small town but that it grows consciously and that it supports itself, all while we support each other. At any moment in time, this is an immense responsibility. But at this moment when there are so many choices, so many important things to take care of, that responsibility can feel tenfold. And the fact is, it is. For all of us.

I have been here for both five and fifty.  Fifty years ago, my parents bought a house on Hartland Hill.  Five years ago, I moved back full time.  It’s a unique perspective.  I’ve lived a lot of my adult life elsewhere. But I also know the memories from when I was young inform all the decisions I’ve made from that time forward. All of what this town was fifty years ago is as alive in my mind today as the issues we are contending with currently. So how do you blend the past with the current?  How do you honor a history with a future? 

Well that feels like my job at Pentangle. And I’m so blessed that my vehicle is the arts. Throughout history it has always been the arts that allow a society or community to explore whatever are the issues of the time. It’s the arts that teach us how to express ourselves and it’s the arts that, more often than not, provide an opportunity for personal healing, as well as the opportunity to understand our differences.

So, at a time when we have so many decisions to make personally, politically, and as a community, I will look to keep Pentangle as a place of community.  A place to congregate. A place to express and teach.  And, if we are lucky, a place to heal.  

My final thoughts… Try kindness. First and always. 

More times than not people are doing their best, and regardless of what happens next, we are going to need each other. 

Here’s to the next fifty years in the arts!

Deborah Greene