The following is a Counterpoint:

By Carol Aderholdt Harris

The arts are alive in High Point, Winston-Salem and North Carolina. In 2006-2007, we were fortunate to enjoy amazing theater in "Romeo and Juliet" and "Footloose."

Thanks to a grandfather who loves the arts and his granddaughter, we partook of "La Boheme," "Harvey," "Our Town" (play), "Our Town" (opera premier), the Grandma Moses exhibit, "Pride and Prejudice," "West Side Story," "The Full Monty" and "First Fridays." "Monet in Normandy" and "Impressions on Monet" in Normandy completed our year.

Nobles, Camel City Café, Mellow Mushroom, Salem Tavern and Blue Ridge restaurants also benefited from grandfather's belief in the importance of the arts experience. Economic impact studies give us data that are usually informative and sometimes insightful; it is not rocket science to connect the arts with food establishments or advertising media.

My review of bank and VISA statements to enlighten my 16-year-old regarding where our dollars went this year revealed a surprising monetary fact. Our arts economic impact is small in the money spent on the performance or the accompanying meal, ice cream, coffee; it is all of the other money spent to and from these events.

In Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Chapel Hill and Raleigh, clothes, school supplies, jewelry, books, greeting cards, gas, food (remembering the ice chest), and toilet paper were purchased.

The economic footprint of the arts was clear: Our essential and nonessential dollars were spent on paths between and around events.

The 2007-2008 year promises the joy of "Reynard the Fox," "The Comedy of Errors," "The Crucible," "Cry Havoc," "Look Homeward, Angel," Kathleen Battle, Yo-Yo Ma, "Cinderella" and more.

For economic viability, High Point needs an arts district, an arts center and accompanying accouterments that denote the intellectual and financial security of a viable city. The arts are big business -- at our house, all of our business.

The writer lives in High Point.