Last November, as winter was descending on my home city of three plus decades, Fort McMurray Alberta, I was getting restless. Not because of the diminishing daylight (I've got a lamp for that), nor for the impending winter cold (that's just living in the north). No, I was restless because I had been waiting years for any orchestra in my neighborhood (western North America) to finally include British composer Raph Vaughan Williams' "Lark Ascending" in their seasonal symphonic program.
Taking matters into my own hands, I Googled that request late one November Tuesday night and got a result that Vaughan Williams' "Lark" was included in the symphonic seasons of Cincinnati Ohio and Prince George, B.C. (What?... Prince George has a symphony and McMurray doesn't: same size, similar make-up!).
Securing my ticket, I waited the four months and arrived in P.G. last Friday ready for my concert but not for the whole Prince George hospitality treatment that I ended up receiving. Booked into a B&B run by Joyce and Ted (That would be Ted, the Citizen's sports writer), Joyce recommended I go to Nancy O's for supper. That's where my "Forest Gump experience" really got started. Sitting at the bar for my supper, I struck-up a conversation with the guy beside me, Nick, brother of one of the bar's owners. In a short while I made acquaintances with Nick's mother Terry who I discovered is the queen of the arts in this prince of a city. Finding out that I came to Prince George solely for the purpose of hearing the symphony on Saturday, she started opening doors and arranged for me to meet her the next day.
Saturday morning at Vanier Hall, Terry introduced me to a whole chorus of wonderful people. Subsequently, I found myself invited to stay the morning for Prince George Symphony's full dress rehearsal hosted by a 'princess' of the P.G. arts scene, Julia. The rest of my day included generous access to the main players of my dream concert: lunch, conversations with the guest violinist Dale, backstage access, after-concert soiree ... 'Forest Gump' indeed!
As I travelled home Sunday, I thought that what most people don't know about Prince George is just about everything: sophisticated tastes: welcoming, friendly people, generosity of spirit; quiet local pride that theirs is a good community. Thank you, Joyce, Ted, Terry, Julia Kevin and of course Dale (guest violist) for making my winter weary spirits soar like a lark ascending.
Prince George is the best!
Victor Steel,
Fort McMurray, Alberta
