124877296_web1_Coronavirus--1-

29 new COVID-19 cases in Luzerne County, 2 more deaths

Books, dance lessons, ‘Sopranos’ — freebies abound online

PLAINS TWP. &mdash; With just about everything in the city&rsquo;s downtown closed and dark during the coronavirus pandemic, the scrolling message board on the F.M. Kirby Center remains lit with messages of canceled shows and hope for a brighter future.
				The Kirby Center has been for more than three decades the crown jewel of a city in progressive revitalization. More businesses are opening, more residents have settled in and two colleges, a movie theater, Barnes and Noble, Berkshire Hathaway GUARD and others call the downtown home.
				And as summer approaches, so would great events like the 65th Fine Arts Fiesta, the weekly Farmers Market and the milling about of college students and theater-goers and shoppers.
				But all that is on hold for now as we await a resolution to this pandemic &mdash; a vaccine, a treatment or a miraculous eradication of the virus that has sickened thousands and killed far too many.
				As I lament the cancellation of the Fine Arts Fiesta, my thoughts turn to the late Al Groh, who co-founded the Fiesta with Annette Evans.
				As Brian Benedetti, executive director of the Fiesta, told me upon Al&rsquo;s death, &ldquo;He took time out of his busy schedule and life to create something that has been a benefit to the entire community.&rdquo;
				Groh&rsquo;s nephew Chris Miller, said, &ldquo;He made it a point to dedicate his life to the arts and to show how the arts can heal and enrich a community.&rdquo;
				And our community &mdash; along with the nation and the world &mdash; need healing now more than ever.
				We need healing beyond the virus. We will need to heal from the damage done other than the sickness and death.
				Art will play a major role in that healing, as we go back to the Kirby and the arena and the theaters and the movies and the businesses and the restaurants and the gyms and the parks.
				Miller also told me the Fine Arts Fiesta was one way Groh dedicated his life to making peace.
				&ldquo;He really civilized this community in a lot of ways,&rdquo; he said.
				Every year the city partners with the Fine Arts Fiesta committee and the event brings thousands of people to the downtown.
				This was Al Groh&rsquo;s 2011 Fiesta Poem:
				&ldquo;The Arts enrich the senses
				Like costumes enrich a show
				Like ballet shoes enrich a dancer&rsquo;s toe
				Like ice cream enriches a birthday meal
				Like colleges enrich a city&rsquo;s appeal
				The Arts, like the welcome gift
				Of pure honey from the hive,
				The Arts enrich our senses
				And we more than just survive
				And we&rsquo;re more human, more alive.&rdquo;
				So perfectly said and so succinct. Groh capsulized what the arts mean to the community, the nation, the world.
				There are great things going on in the community with the Wyoming Valley Art League, the Sordoni Art Gallery, the many theater groups and venues and events. They all are vital to the health of our community and health is what we need now.
				We will return to all those &ldquo;normal&rdquo; activities we enjoyed before the pandemic. We will gather and laugh and tell our stories. We will learn what we all did to cope with self-isolation and social distancing.
				The light will return to our lives. Spring will again be in our step. Relief will come to us all.
				Until then, look at that scrolling message board on the Kirby Center marquee and remember not just the experience we had there, but anticipate the new memories yet to be made.
				Stay safe. Stay strong.

Coping with Corona: Look to the arts