By WMBD TV
BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington Center for Performing Arts saw record numbers in the month of November.
The BCPA reported 11,481 patrons walked through its doors in November. The theater said this is the largest number of audience members it has ever seen and sold out many of its performances.
The Assistant Director of Arts Entertainment for the City of Bloomington, Mike Walcott, attributes this success the wide range of diverse performances that the BCPA has hosted.
He said each performance is catered to varying demographics— whether the organization is bringing in new talent or revisiting old favorites.
“It feels really good to know in the past year we’ve grown like we have,” Walcott said. “Not only has the theater itself grown, but our staff has grown as far as their skill sets.”
“Their ownership in the building, their pride in the building; That’s a big part of making this thing successful too,” Walcott said.
The Bloomington Center for Performing Arts was not the only entertainment venue to see success in November. Grossinger Motors Arena brought in 19,719 fans to Downtown Bloomington for both its REO Speedwagon concert and for the Bloomington Bison hockey games.
Combined with the nearly 12,000 patrons brought in by the BCPA, nearly 30,000 people came through Downtown Bloomington.
Wilcott said this is beneficial to the local economy in Bloomington.
“Anytime you can bring people to a certain town or a certain area, the economic impact is a big thing,” Wilcott said. “We have people driving in from Peoria, from Decatur, from Springfield, Champagne, they’re bringing money to our community here in Bloomington, which is very helpful for us. They’re spending money at our local restaurants that are shopping our local shops there, maybe filling up the gas tank.”
“Through the tickets they purchase here, they’re putting money back into our local economy,” he said.
Walcott also recalled a woman who came all the way from Germany to see Josh Gates in concert at the BCPA venue. He said he knew of people from 27 different states coming out to the concert, but she flew all the way from out of the country just to fly back right after the concert.
He is excited for the 2025 season, saying many of next year’s performances are already sold out.
WMBD can be reached at [email protected].
