Local music aficionados were hit with disheartening news of Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts' closure back in December.
While Blue Bamboo originally had plans to transfer over to a venue in the Packing District, a new opportunity arose in a proposed revamping of the old Winter Park public library, a move that managing director Chris Cortez believes will benefit not only the organization, but the community.
"The new building gives us the opportunity to really grow into something much more substantial for a lot of people, other than just 'that jazz place,' I think people think of us that way," Cortez shares during a phone interview with Orlando Weekly. "I like the idea of being able to diversify all of the things we do."
Alongside a brutal rent hike levied upon the original venue — which opened on Winter Park's Kentucky Avenue back in 2016 — the conditions of Blue Bamboo's original space seemed to no longer serve the Center's ambitions in terms of capacity, hosting a max of 100 patrons per performance. With the new venue, Cortez imagines a much larger-scale arts center that can encompass a variety of artistic endeavors, including dance and theater.
Cortez explains that the first floor of the new space will be able to hold audiences of up to 200 people in a planned auditorium, alongside a smaller room that would be suitable for smaller performances accommodating around 60 people.
The second floor would host an educational collaboration between Blue Bamboo, Central Florida Vocal Arts and Winter Park Chamber Music Academy, providing vocal and music lessons.
A unique aspect of the renovations comes in the plans for the building's third floor, which Cortez wants to utilize as a flexible space for a variety of nonprofit arts organizations' use, including as rehearsal and show spaces. Cortez says he wants to make it a priority to provide a space specifically for the arts community to use at minimal cost.
"Central Florida just doesn't have anything like that. There's a thriving business on one or two floors and then the upper floor is just, 'come one, come all,' sign up and you could do your rehearsal here," Cortez says. "It's going to take a load off the other performing arts spaces like Shakes and Orlando Family Stage. ... They're always booked up. This is a situation I think that we could alleviate some of that need."
Blue Bamboo finally won out in their bid to take over the old library space against the proposed new Rollins Art Museum at the Winter Park City Commission meeting on June 26. The lease is set to be reread at the July 10 meeting, where the deal will be officially authorized.
There were discrepancies around the estimated cost of renovating the old library, with some estimated values in the multi-millions, but WP Vice Mayor Todd Weaver's inspection report estimated the expenses at only $175,000.
"That was like moving a mountain, trying to get people to let go of that idea that it had to cost so much more money than we thought; everybody thought we grossly underestimated the cost of this. So when Commissioner Weaver delivered that report, it was vindicating. We knew we were on the right track," Cortez says of the oft-bumpy road to approval.
"Now, that doesn't mean we're going to do a lousy job or it's not going to look fantastic. We have a plan to make the building beautiful and functional. If you don't change the floor plan and you don't change the footprint too much, this can be accomplished for far less money."
To keep the creative fires burning while the Center was between venues, Cortez had the idea of hosting Blue Bamboo "satellite shows." This traveling concert series has provided an opportunity to keep the Blue Bamboo mission alive.
"We started with the Winter Park Library, the new library building, and they were very accommodating. They gave me six months' worth of shows and they have a beautiful theater inside the library that I really like," Cortez says. "Then Casa Feliz reached out, and we started doing a series for them, and they very graciously allowed us to expand that series and do ticketed events."
Blue Bamboo hosts their eighth anniversary concert [1 p.m. Sunday, July 14, $15] at the Casselberry Arts Center with the Orlando Jazz Orchestra. These recent developments will no doubt add more oomph to this celebration.
Aside from the Packing District, Casselberry was where Cortez was considering taking Blue Bamboo, heartened by the energy that city has put into becoming an arts and culture destination. However, with lifelong roots in Winter Park, he felt the library was the most natural fit, both personally and because the performing arts as a whole still hasn't garnered enough attention and focus there.
"If they don't have that opportunity in Winter Park, [people] will get in their car and they will drive over to Orlando, they'll pay to park in Orlando, they'll pay to have dinner in Orlando, and they'll pay to shop in Orlando," Cortez says.
Cortez critiques the position of politicians who ignore the essential importance of the arts to the vitality of the greater Orlando area [or, ahem, the state], especially in such a large tourist sector. It's leaving money on the table, he argues.
The Winter Park community backed up Cortez's point with their testimonials at the June 26 Commission meeting, sharing stories of the impact Blue Bamboo had on their lives.
"Melody [Cortez, assistant manager] and I [were] just tearing up through the whole thing. It's just amazing. As you're doing it, it's not so apparent, but when you look back on it, you go, 'Oh, there's that lady, she's 102 years old, and she comes to an average of two Blue Bamboo shows a week.' ... It piles up over the years."
Cortez anticipates opening the new space by the end of the year, specifying November as an end goal. And he is hopeful that this transition will allow Blue Bamboo to continue to provide a quality space for the arts community to thrive.
"It's about love. We love what we do. We love the people we do it with. We love the people we do it for."
