Slowly, but surely, the cultural infrastructure and ambience of the area continues to climb. Over the past 18 months the Spirit Square project has been completed; Cranbrook Ed, the Elephant sculpture, took up residence near Cranbrook Photo, the Spirit Tree sprouted near the Clock Tower and the Cranbrook Arch now welcomes visitors to the downtown core.

One of the real incentives to use the much underutilized Rotary Park has been the addition of the new bandstand. This was included in the Spirit Square development. Musicians and performers now have a small professional level outdoor venue in the down town core. It was used for a number of events last summer, including World Earth Day and the kick off celebration for the Cranbrook Farmers’ Market.

The only other permanent bandstand / band shell in the area is the one at Idlewild Park. It is old, probably over 30 years, somewhat in disrepair and has no elevated stage. It is made of metal and creates sonic difficulties for sound technicians. It has been the home of the Idlewild Musicfest for the past four years. This is a now well established annual event that warrants access to a professional level stage.

Throughout the year there are numerous outdoor performances and fund raising programs that beg, borrow or rent tents, stages and equipment to enable the running of the event. Apart from technical adequacy issues, there are some safety concerns that need to be addressed to ensure successful future events. Wind is a big negative factor when tent like structures are used for outdoor events.

Diane Butz, Director of Leisure Service for the City of Cranbrook, is well aware of the situation and in the city capital planning process has reviewed the feasibility of adding another permanent band shell to the cultural landscape. The difficulties are, obviously, the cost (over $150,000), location and usability of a permanent facility. Because of these difficulties a new band shell is, understandably, a low priority in the capital funding process

In the book and the movie called “The Field of Dreams” the chief protagonist decides to level his corn field and replace it with a baseball diamond for some long gone baseball legends. The logic was “build it and they will come”. Now, local business man Lowell Threinen does not have a corn field nor, to my knowledge, does he have a yen to build a baseball diamond. But he does have his own “Field of Dreams” and that is a fully professional mobile stage for use in the area. In his words “if you have hockey rinks you have hockey players. So if you have theatres and professional outdoor stages then you will have musicians and performers populating the cultural landscape”. In his view a professional mobile stage is an investment in the cultural infrastructure of the area and will have significant benefits for the population at large.

Lowell has been pursuing this dream for some time but the capital cost has been prohibitive (starting at $135,000). In place of an outright purchase, his small business (JUST MUSIC) has become the local “depot” for Mobile Stage Rentals (MSR). In January, to get the project in motion, Lowell and two associates drove to Montreal for the three days of training on the MSR SL100. They then hitched it up to their trailer and drove it back to Cranbrook just in time for a test run alongside the huge MSR SL250 used by the Olympic Torch Rally organizers. It was a noteworthy kickoff for the new equipment.

Lowell’s new “Field of Dreams” is safe, self contained, mobile and only takes about four hours to completely set up the large stage and equipped it with lights and professional sound equipment. The rental fee for the mobile unit is comparable to the previous tent and cumbersome stage systems used over the past few years. So, for the events of the coming year audiences can expect an enhanced experience when they attend the many outdoor functions that take place in the area over the summer. So kicking back in the sun this summer and watching a show in a professional environment is something to look forward to with much anticipation.