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Music, theater, visual and other arts take center stage in Naples as the United Arts Council of Collier County presents the fourth annual Celebrate the Arts Month (www.celebratethearts.org) this month. Created to promote the arts and culture to residents as well as visitors, it dovetails with the beginning of season as snowbirds and tourists arrive back in town, and showcases everything from opera under the stars to an Old Florida Festival to the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra performing the music of Led Zeppelin. With more than 120 events scheduled, this year’s will be the biggest so far, says the council’s executive director, Elaine Hamilton.

What will make it different this year?
There are so many exciting things happening this year in November, first with the new Naples International Film Festival, and the grand reopening of the Naples Botanical Garden. A lot of the theaters are focusing on comedy. [And there are many] things that are free and family-oriented. Marco Island Center for the Arts has their 40th anniversary in November.

How does Celebrate the Arts affect the business community?
The arts are a big component of the business community. [According to a 2004 study], the 46 nonprofit arts groups in Collier County alone contribute somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 million to our economy. When you add in the for-profit arts-related businesses, it’s probably close to half a billion dollars.

Is support for the arts flagging in this economy?
This season will tell the tale. We hear that individual donations and corporate donations started dropping off at the beginning of this calendar year. Having said that, the Naples Players at the Sugden Community Theatre had their best season ever. If you can provide good value at a fair price, your organization is going to continue to do OK. Where we are seeing some downturn is in the gallery business.