Doo wop crowd at the Great Auditorium, 2011. Blogfinger photo ©
Will a reduction in secular programming cause a decline in good will for the CMA?. Blogfinger photo (digitally altered by an OG resident.) ©
Anonymous tip: “Heard it from a reliable source – CMA voted – no secular programs on Saturday nights in 2019 – religious programs only. ”
Editor’s Note: Feb. 3, 2019
We don’t know yet if this prediction is true, but the CMA has already moved in this direction, and the web site schedule for 2019 appears, so far, to confirm that tip. One thing seems certain, such a move will likely change Ocean Grove’s reputation, and it will affect attitudes in and outside the Grove. Many people would be disappointed. Last year (2018) the CMA had a Doo Wop event and a Beach Boy concert in the Great Auditorium.
TONY BENNETT has appeared in the Great Auditorium at one of those Saturday night concerts in front of thousands of people—talk about good will ! The recording below is at Carnegie Hall (capacity 2,800) with the Ralph Sharon Orchestra. The GA can seat 6,500. So, one would wonder about the wisdom of ending secular concerts at the GA when such events can create tremendous good will and fame for the CMA.
As of February 1, 2019, the 2019 OGCMA web site schedule (OceanGrove.org) seems fairly complete, and no Saturday night secular shows are listed. There are a few band concerts.
There probably will be more announcements coming up. Currently the schedule says very little about any Saturday GA events. The official program magazine comes out in April.
As of today, the Great Auditorium will be hosting The Neptune High School graduation, a 150th OG Anniversary event, The Police Memorial, and a series of organ recitals.
You can follow this subject at the CMA web site
Of interest regarding the OGCMA web site, it says that the July 4 parade will be held on Saturday July 6.
Also, programs that are held on the beach are listed as occurring on the “OGCMA Beach” Not sure what exactly that designation means to the CMA organization. There are many people in Ocean Grove who think that the CMA owns the beaches, but others say, “not.”
The fact is, people who have been year-round residents here for a long time don’t “fit in with everyone else.”
They don’t “fit in with everyone else”, since you asked. They don’t affect me except for collecting land rent and closing our beach on Sundays!
Although the details remain to be confirmed, this topic is important enough to encourage discussion. The CMA is always an important news-maker in the life of Ocean Grove, although they don’t seem to be too concerned with what we-the-people think.
At Blogfinger we have been discussing quality of life issues within the framework of trying to define what sort of town Ocean Grove is or would be. We have wrestled with a variety of themes including the role of the CMA in relation to the rest of us, and the relationship of the CMA to the rest of the town is puzzling.
But there is no denying that the CMA must be recognized for its peculiar and critical roll in the life of the Grove. Attention must be paid, and it would be good if various factions here would participate in a Blogfinger discussion of what our town is all about, and where the CMA fits in with everyone else.
Camp Meeting took down the chains at the front gates under court order (1980) years ago. However, there are many invisible chains remaining.
First invisible chain. While landlords of G-d’s square mile, can anyone recall an acknowledgement of its tenant/constituency? Something positive. Not escalating ground-rentals on condos. Not denial of a 10-weekend parking problem. How about elderly Ocean Grove residents–most on fixed income–invited in at half-time on a Saturday night performance compliments of OGCMA.?
Second chain. Resistance to diversity.. While no longer interviewing potential homeowners, is that paper-shuffling with its mission-commitment still operational? Has our diverse religious and gay components been meaningfully involved in governance and programmatic efforts ?
Third–and final for now–chain. Inability to assess its historical and financial success. Saturday nights and Sunday services were instrumental in filling those Great Auditorium seats and CMA coffers Yes, times have changed.
And so does the need for contemporary, quality programming and event promotion.
The CMA president expresses the need to cultivate the Millenials. Yes, but two key factors can not be overlooked: many of that generation are not comfortable with the inflexibility of religious structures and do not have the time or financial resources of preceding generations. So who does ? The retiring and post baby- boomers. They will celebrate Saturday nights with Carol King, Andrea Bocelli, Lady Gaga, and Tony Bennett (if he can make it).
Here’s what I heard today: The CMA sold out to a huge church that has thousands of parishioners and THAT’S who will be coming to the auditorium on Saturday nights!
Another anonymous source tells us today that a proposal to have two Saturday night “pops” concerts next summer in the GA was rejected by the CMA who want all religious programming. Once again, we await confirmation on these rumors.
My reaction is, “Who cares? Who needs them?”
“The people who came to see the shows had trouble parking anyway. (One of the reasons for stopping the shows? Dropped attendance? Or, stale, stale programming.)
“I haven’t needed them for anything or attended any of their programs (“selective programs”) in over 20 years.”