We asked. You answered.
The first three questions were designed to help determine the scope of our work, by both cultural entity and geographic range. The fourth was to establish the respondent’s relationship to the area. Although the sampling was less than 1% of Stonington’s population, it’s enough to provide guidelines.
Some takeaways:
Which of these feel like “culture” to you here? Not surprisingly, Art galleries/studios and historic buildings/conservation led the way. A little surprisingly, our fishing fleet and working waterfront polled slightly ahead of libraries/public gathering spaces, and brought oysters and aquaculture along in a tie with boatbuilding, farms and vineyards.
How much do you agree with each of these? The strongest net disagreement was to “history matters more to visitors than residents.” The strongest net agreement was to “Commercial fishing is central to this area’s identity.” And nobody disagreed with “Tourism strengthens local culture more than it strains it.” Plus, most folks think everyday working life counts as culture.
When you say “around here,” which towns are you including? While this is self explanatory, we have two major cultural entities in Ledyard — the beloved Mystic Paper Beasts and Dragon’s Egg Studio performance space — with a long history in the Stonington region.
What’s your connection to the area? Also self explanatory, at least to indicate that longtime and lifelong are the groups that like to take surveys.
The remaining two text questions asked respondents what else they would like to see on the website, from specific organization listings to event calendars. Those are being added one at a time, and if you have any suggestions, feel free to contact us at editor@stoningtonculture.com
