Happy New Year CambridgeToday readers. Every year I am reminded how fortunate I am to live in the city of Cambridge. We have so much for which to be thankful. Despite how tough lockdown was, how much we missed community events we were so much better off than many areas in Canada. We live in a beautiful area, rivers, trees, and countryside free from major flooding and mud slides, forest fires or major violence.
In the late fall some restrictions were opened, the anticipation of Cambridge opening the Centre for the Arts, of Tapestry Hall (Gaslight District) made many of us feel a return to what we previously took for granted was getting closer.
Armed with our three-layer masks, QR codes, identification we were able to participate in community activities that previously had been a large part of our lives.
My first outing was returning to my weekly painting group with Studio 30 members at the Cambridge Centre for the Arts. Prior to March 2020 this had been a weekly commitment which I loved. Other visual artists of various mediums, mostly watercolour, acrylic and ink, met to paint. We would put our current work up for all members to constructively critique and comment which included helpful suggestions offering encouragement and appreciation. Thus motivating one another in our work. During the lockdown, although I could easily paint in my studio, without this input I only did two paintings in almost two years.
Studio 30 began meeting after Thanksgiving so for nine weeks a reduced number of us met in the Summerhayes studio. We were so pleased to be together again, realizing how much we had missed one another. In those few weeks I completed six paintings. A very positive outcome.
Another enjoyable venture was to hear the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra in person. Our symphony orchestra had been a huge part of my life having been involved from the beginning and helping steer it to such success.
I had attended two of their outdoor concerts in the summer, arranged by the City of Cambridge when they played in Churchill Park, but I certainly missed the live music and the community camaraderie of their concerts.
The first one in the park was rained out within 10 minutes when a fast-moving thunderstorm soaked us as we sat masked and six feet apart. A big disappointment. The replacement concert a few weeks later lasted a little longer but dusk and the musicians not being able to read their music shortened the programme.
In early December the city held a festival of lights celebration in Civic Square with a variety of artists participating. It was so good once again to see friends and acquaintances not seen for months on end.
On Dec. 10 Tapestry Hall held a concert at the Gaslight District, featuring Quartetto Gelato, a wonderfully joyous evening. All the guests were fully masked, had shown their QR codes and although the thought crossed some minds this might be a super spreader, that did not lessen our enjoyment of hearing live classical music again. The energy level was high, the hall splendidly decorated made me proud to be part of this community.
The following day my Women’s Probus club held their first in person lunch in almost two years. Seeing people in person rather than on Zoom made me very content.
We are sad that currently we are again in a volatile situation. We are all tired and fed up, but the pandemic doesn’t care, its job is to survive and replicate as much as possible.
Again, our city and region are largely vaccinated helping curb its growth. We all knew after Christmas gatherings it would flourish again but a brief respite in the fall makes us hope by the spring we can once again enjoy all this city has to offer the residents. I miss my connections and look forward to the pleasure of renewing them as soon as possible.
Stay safe and Happy New Year.
