Goodrich: What is Portsmouth’s culture?

To help answer this question it’s important to understand how the word culture is defined. Most people think of the arts when the word culture is mentioned, but the word encompasses a great deal more.

Culture is the lifeblood of a vibrant society, expressed in the many ways we tell our stories, celebrate, remember the past, entertain ourselves and imagine the future.

With this definition in mind, how do we now describe Portsmouth today, and just as important how do we envision it in the many tomorrows to come?

The city has recently kicked off a cultural planning process to help define the goals and strategies the address topics including: social cohesion; community engagement; arts and culture programming; services for the creative community, cultural facilities development; and funding for arts and culture.

Portsmouth has a dynamic culture in its DNA. We have been and will continue to be a cultural destination for people from across the region and beyond. We live in a place that others save up their vacation time and money to come and visit for a few days a year.

Having grown up in this town and now living here and raising two beautiful young boys, I am committed to contributing to the long arc of Portsmouth’s story. This is the great opportunity that the cultural planning process will afford ALL of Portmouth’s residents. We will have a chance to be heard and to contribute our thoughts and dreams to the planning process. The committee will be hosting focus groups, conducting surveys, hosting listening sessions and reaching out through a wide array of arts & cultural institutions.

Just the other day the committee was joined by Stephen Chinosi, Principal of Portsmouth High School. To hear him talk about the role that students can play in this process was inspiring and refreshing. The cultural plan will help shape the city that these students will inherit and call their own, so their participation is vital.

For all of the topics that divide us and create tension in our community, this initiative can serve as a rallying point to bring people together. The cultural plan is strengthened through the inclusion of diverse voices and ideas. It reflects the aspirations brought by people of different backgrounds, with different interests. In short, it provides us a voice and a say in what our community looks and feels like. I hope that everyone in Portsmouth becomes aware of the cultural plan and wants to contribute to its creation. What a wonderful assignment for all of us, to help write a yet untold story of a magical little city on the water that we’re lucky to call home.

Jason Goodrich's family has called Portsmouth home since the early 1800s and he is a professional realtor with Good Living Seacoast Realty in Portsmouth. Additionally, he serves as a trustee for the Seacoast Repertory Theatre; serves on Portsmouth's Arts and Nonprofits committee, and is a member of the Cultural Plan subcommittee.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Goodrich: What is Portsmouth’s culture?