Civic miffed by proposed cultural arts center name
A rose by any other name may smell as sweet but the idea of a new cultural arts center without North Fort Myers in its name stinks, according to a position taken by the North Fort Myers Civic Association.
For weeks, Civic, in advance of its June 2 cocktail party and forums, said there would be a discussion regarding the much hoped-for North Fort Myers Cultural Arts Center.
So, when the meeting ended and the group formed to push for the center announced it would call itself the Palms Cultural Arts Center, it left a few association members puzzled.
Tuesday, at the civic association’s monthly meeting at the rec center, president Michael Land gave an ultimatum: Use North Fort Myers in the name or you won’t get any support from us.
The civic association passed a motion to basically start from scratch and rename the cultural arts center to its original name after the group that came together two weeks ago decided against using the community’s name, saying they wanted the facility to represent all of Lee County.
The cultural arts committee was set to meet Thursday to discuss that subject.
Land told Maryanne Howard, a civic association director and one of the forces behind a new cultural arts center, that the name doesn’t bring the area to mind and didn’t represent North Fort Myers properly.
He said the civic association didn’t have to back the committee and said unless there’s a mention of North Fort Myers in the name, the association will not support it.
“Naming it the Palms doesn’t bring North Fort Myers to mind. The civic association doesn’t have to invest in the cultural center,” Land said, adding that any group that calls itself the Palms is a “rogue group.”
Land said having the civic association as an ally has its advantages, including free use of the group’s website, coverage under its insurance policy and a post office box.
At the June 2 panel discussion, a nucleus of supporters from the arts community gathered at the Shell Factory’s Dolphin Room, dedicated to bringing a cultural arts center to the area that will encompass performing, visual and fine arts.
The goal was to acquire a building of its own, not just at the new library set to open in two years, and had a few places in mind.
At that meeting, the group was able to raise $600 in seed money to help them get started.
But the loss of the North Fort Myers name left a bad taste in the mouth of Land, who, ironically, at the last meeting brought up changing the name of North Fort Myers.
On June 4, The Palms Cultural Arts Center was registered as a Fictitious Name or Trade Name.