What the hell is an Odeon, anyway?
The textbook definition is a "Greek or Roman theater". For our purposes here, though, we're talking about a former grange hall in the town - crossroads, really- of Nelson.
True to both the theater of antiquity and it's former life as a grange hall, it currently hosts musical artists, mostly of the "roots" persuasion.
Oh, so it's a theater, or club, then?
No, it's much more than meets the eye. It's only after experiencing the Nelson Odeon firsthand that you realize it's more than just a charming room with a stage.
When you realize that the folks who work hard to bring the shows do so out of love for the music and because they want to share the music with others and the acts themselves do what they do because they love what they do that you begin to realize it's something very special. Sure, the owners and artists would love to make money doing what they do, but it's not the primary driving force behind what they do.
Recently we attended a potluck for friends and volunteers of the theater and what surprised me was that that spirit carried over into the food that was there. Now at almost any gathering I've been to, there are always those who - for whatever reason - just stop at the deli and pick up their contribution. That was not really the case here. Almost everyone who brought food to share went the extra mile and prepared it from scratch...because they cared enough to.
So my definition of Odeon would have to include something like "oasis of benevolent spirit in a sea of apathy and animosity"
