GROVE CITY - If the Guthrie Arts Guild is any indication, dreams do come true.

Daniel Savolskis said he dreamed up the idea for the guild several years ago. Having opened its 2005-06 concert series last Friday, the guild is now a reality.

In September 2003, Savolskis and local artists and musicians formed the guild to introduce area residents to different forms of artistic expression not usually available in local venues.

It kicked off its activities with an opening concert in May, attended by about 200 people. It followed through with last Friday's presentation by Jorge Variego and the Contemporary Tango Ensemble, the first of a whole slate of events for the coming year.

Savolskis said the idea for the guild came about simply because it was needed.

"As I was walking around town, I noticed we were lacking real cultural diversity," Savolskis said.

Savolskis, an amateur classic trumpeter who plays in orchestras and big bands across the region, had traveled to many different countries as a photojournalist with the Army.

In terms of cultural activity, many European and Asian countries have "more than you ever see in the United States," Savolskis said. "We're talking about in small towns, high quality."

Through the Guthrie Arts Guild, Savolskis hopes to introduce a little bit of that mentality to the Grove City area. Concerts, which range this year from soprano opera solos to a bluegrass guitarist, are held over the lunch hour at the Guthrie Theater. Pre-purchasing a ticket for $8 guarantees admission and a bag lunch to be taken into the theater and eaten during the concert.

Diana Walters, a local voice teacher who has taught at Grove City, Westminster and Butler County Community colleges, was instrumental in getting the guild up and running.

"The community needs more variety in the kind of music that is presented here. I've always had an idea to do concerts in that little theater," Walters said. "It's so charming, especially since the Thomases took it over and started refurbishing it."

Built in 1927, the Guthrie was originally a vaudeville theater. When Eric Thomas took it over in 2001, he began the process of restoring some of its original décor.

"I call it the queen of Broad Street," Thomas said. "What better place to do this? Going back to live performances is a natural progression."

Though the guild was formed in 2003 and had a ready venue donated by Thomas, it took some time to secure funding for the concerts. Eventually, Savolskis and company were able to get partial funding from local businesses.A grant from the Pennsylvania Partners for the Arts allowed the group to go through with its plans as a project of the Midwestern Arts and Humanities Foundation in Grove City. MAHF is an outreach of the Intermediate Unit IV's efforts to bring professional artists into the schools."One of our goals is to have really good, quality music. It doesn't necessarily have to be from this area," Walters said.Another goal is to diversify the types of culture local people are exposed to."I don't want to just showcase jazz or classical. I don't want to just showcase music," Savolskis said.For future series, he is looking into bringing puppeteers and poets to the Guthrie stage.The result of the program will be the building of an audience base for future cultural activities in the area, Walters said.And Savolskis said the concert series would also bring people to downtown."With every town in the area doing some type of revitalization, this is aimed at getting people to come downtown who don't usually come downtown," he said.

The crowd at last Friday's concert may indicate the effort to bring people downtown is working. Most of those present were from Grove City, but some came from out of town.Anita Adams came from Franklin to see the show at the invitation of Beverly Caldwell, a friend who lives in Grove City.Adams said she would definitely be back for more. "It's nice when a community tries new things and the people support it," Adams said.Caldwell invited Adams after attending the guild's inaugural concert in the spring."Unless you go to Pittsburgh or the college events, the music is not always easy to get to," Caldwell said. "There's a great diversity in the music they present here."It is such a good idea, she said, that after her mother-in-law attended the spring concert, she took the idea with her back to her home state of Maine, hoping to implement it there.Many of the concert goers were residents of College View Towers, a senior housing complex at the corner of Broad and Main streets.Many of those attendees said they were happy to have something to do over their lunch hour and were impressed by the quality of the show for the size of the venue."It's something wonderful for a small town," said Rita Holler of Grove City.Tickets for the monthly programs are available at various Grove City businesses. For more information about the Guthrie Arts Guild and its concert series, contact Savolskis at 814-786-9769.<br></br><br></br>