by Harold McMillan

Since this is our last issue for 1996 / first issue of 1997, I am going to take the liberty to do a bit more rambling than I sometimes do: re-cap and forecast all in one. This December/January number marks our second birthday. Yes, we lived through another one and are going full steam into a new season. This too is our chance to take a bit of a break, spend some time with our families, and skip that monthly dealine one time as we prepare for our February issue.

Thank you for once again picking up our little magazine. You will (or have) noticed that our regular features, interviews and reviews are missing. This is the one time each year that our staff writers and some of our friends get to relax and write about whatever they want. This issue has lots of original fiction, poetry, an essay or two -- art for art's sake. We hope you enjoy the departure and will give us some feedback on what's good and what's not.

Our experiment here is only able to continue as long as folks like you read what we have to say and respond. We are blessed because the response to Austin Downtown Arts continues to be positive and encouraging. As we end our second year of publishing, we have hopes of expanding and improving what we do. With your support -- both in readership and advertisement -- our third year will prove to be a bit closer to our ultimate goal: to produce a well-written, widely distributed and read, arts and culture magazine that showcases the best of the Austin arts scene and its writers.

So for this, my 1996 post-Thanksgiving Day missive, I offer big thanks to all of our readers, distributors, and advertisers for helping us make it to another birthday. (Don't worry: we'll throw a big party in a few weeks and invite all of you to celebrate with us.)

As for the folks who actually work each month to get us through production and out into the streets, my thanks extend way out there into the realm of deep gratitude and priceless appreciation. During the course of the last few months there has been a buzz out there among a handful of bright young writers, photographers, graphic artists, and production people. That buzz has resulted in fresh ideas, an opportunity for us to get a boost from the outside, an opportunity for us who've been here from the beginning to get a bit of relief and gain some perspective on what we are doing. Now the list of newcomers (new during the last several months) is pretty long. If I list them here by name, I'd probably miss someone and embarrass myself by doing so. Just know that we are still alive because there is a group of folks who put their hearts into this mag. Nobody is getting rich doing it. They do it because they believe in the project.

Now, there are two folks I do need to mention by name: Sandra Beckmeier and Christopher Hess have been with Austin Downtown Arts since the first issue. No easy task! They have written, edited, distributed, planned, pasted-up, gone without sleep, gone without pay, gone the extra mile to insure continuity and progress of this little mag. Since their first Austin bylines with us, they have also gone on to be published in the Austin Chronicle, the Austin American Statesman, 15 Minutes, a local health magazine and other media outlets. Chris is now our Managing Editor; Sandra, our Assignments Editor. And quite honestly, without them Austin Downtown Arts might not be alive today.

'Tis the season to be thankful. I'd just like you folks out there (especially those who know Chris and Sandra's work) to know how important they are to our organization and just how much we appreciate the good work they have done for the arts scene and Austin Downtown Arts. They embody the spirit of this work and we thank Christopher and Sandra for their longevity, creativity, and patience.

DiverseArts, the organization, is in the midst of a watershed year of its brief history. Having recently moved to our new home, the East 13th Street Heritage House, we are bustin' out all over with new ideas, programming, and services. Yes, some of what is going on is pretty ambitious, but we feel that now is the time to make an impact on the cultural community of Austin, from within that community.

We invite you to become involved with us. We invite you to take advantage of the offerings of our Community Arts School, beginning in January. We invite you to reserve and use our meeting room, to rehearse your mostly acoustic (i.e., low volume) band. We invite you to call on us for publicity support for your project. We want to see you at this season's Blues Family Tree Concerts, the Women in Jazz Concerts, and the Clarksville Jazz Fest. We invite you to join us in January for the Second Sunday Salon at Heritage House. We invite you to help us revitalize the historic Victory Grill and attend our East Side Circuit shows there. We invite you to let us know what you think of what we are doing. We simply want to be a good example of a hard-working, multi-cultural, multidisciplinary, community arts organization.

With that now said, and noticing that it is the season for giving, we also remind you that we are a non-profit organization that only survives with the support of the community. If you are in a position to help us accomplish our goals -- by cash contribution, labor, donated equipment or services, paid advertising -- we would love to hear from you and be added to your Holiday Giving List. It's a good thing to do. And we'd really appreciate the help.

We'll see you in the New Year. Be safe and healthy.