The Varieties of Civic Involvement: Senior Sage Leaders

This passion of senior sages to extend beyond one sector and engage in a widely diverse set of initiatives is very impressive, especially given that these men and women are often retired and supposedly past their most productive and energetic years! The one lingering issue with senior sages’ passions and diversity of involvements is that many of the same people often can be found in some of these different organizations, making it sometimes difficult for “new folks” to break in.

An Arts Destination of Distinction

Grass Valley and Nevada City are particularly noted for the richness and diversity of the arts. Given the extraordinary number and range of theatrical and musical events, museums, galleries, and arts fairs, the community is fast becoming an “arts destination of distinction.” Some of these offerings are well-known and widely publicized – such as Music in the Mountains, the Center for the Arts, InConcert Sierra, and KVMR’s Celtic Festival. Others are less widely known, yet still are of exceptional quality. These arts offerings are effectively coordinated through Nevada County Arts, and it is fascinating to see how much the community gets done when compared with other rural areas in California.

And there may be a secret to this success. The flourishing of the arts in Twin Towns may be tied to the unique dynamics that are often found in “island” communities; that is, in communities which are at least partially isolated from major urban arts competition. On an island, you learn to do art yourself rather than traveling many miles to attend a theater or gallery that is run and operated by professionals who are “in the arts business” full-time. One senior sage notes that Nevada County is a very powerful “starter” county. As in a 1930s Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland movie, a small group of people can just “start-up” in a local barn or an abandoned office building, small manufacturing plant, or vacant Main Street store. This starter mentality and dynamics may have something to do with community size. During the final project seminar of emerging and senior sage leader interviewers, it was widely acknowledged that Nevada County is “not so large that you can’t get things done, and not so small that you can’t get things done.” “Small is big,” and even a slight bit of isolation seems to generate a significant level of arts activity. This is undoubtedly true of other areas of community life in Twin Towns as well.

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