When John White dreams, he dreams big, and when he fires up his creative engines he's unstoppable.

The way he sees it, no obstacle is too big and no stone too small to leave unturned, because the feasibility of any project on which he embarks has not only been carefully thought through first, but also is backed by his irrepressible "can do'' philosophy.

Mr. White and his wife Susan moved to California some years ago, but the man who was raised here and went on to become a highly successful musician (The Travellers), producer (The Um Um shows), and head of the Island's biggest advertising agency (AAC) never forgot the place he had called home for most of his life.

Through frequent trips back to the Island as a trustee of the National Sports Centre, Mr. White was well acquainted with the parlous state of Bermuda's entertainment scene, and of the dearth of work for the talented pool of men and women who had once given such pleasure to visitors and locals alike. He thought, too, of all the rising young talent here whose prospects of doing the same were dim.

While vacationing in Hawaii last October, Mr. White was struck by how much its culture was a part every visitor's holiday experience. The hotel where he stayed, for example, had an in-house cultural centre where visitors could learn the hula, etc. Children were chanting Hawaiian songs on the steps of their schools every day; two radio stations played Hawaiian music; there were distinctive Hawaiian print shirts and drinks; Hawaiian musicians and entertainers were everywhere -- the list was endless, and the local atmosphere pleasantly inescapable.

In short, Hawaii was marketing its culture with grace and charm at every turn, and in every way, and the visitors loved it.

Why, Mr. White wondered, couldn't Bermuda do the same? His mind travelled back to the years when he was but one of many musicians, singers and entertainers employed in hotels, night clubs and restaurants on a nightly basis. He thought of all the fine Bermudians who had brought such pleasure to visitors and locals alike -- people like The Talbot Brothers, Hubert Smith and the Coral Islanders, the Bermuda Strollers, Gene Steede, The Stealers, Stan Seymour, Gandhi Burgess, The Happening BDA, and so many more.

And then he thought of Bermuda's abysmal entertainment scene today. Quite frankly, it saddened him -- to such an extent that it played like an old record in his head. Bermuda, he realised, was "unfinished business''.

"I started to think that I had left before I got the Cultural Centre started.

In those days I was thinking about it as a building, and that is not what a culture centre should be. We can carry on our job with no building at all,'' Mr. White relates. "But what really got me going was Gene Steede singing at the airport. He is our greatest entertainer. He couldn't talk to the visitors nor they to him. The fact that he no longer had a show led me to believe that the situation had deteriorated to gargantuan proportions, and it needed some serious revival.'' "You have got to go back and do something,'' an inner voice told him.

Back home in California Mr. White began to formulate a very well defined, comprehensive plan which he believed would not only galvanise and revitalise Bermuda's entertainment scene, but give hope to all of the talent on the Island, and those who would come to enjoy it.

In short, he would generate the sparks that hopefully would light an unquenchable fire under the entertainment industry.

Last November, with his wife's blessing, and a ground plan under his arm, Mr.

White left the couple's ranch in Sonoma County, California where they care for retired horses and raise deer as part of a conservation programme, and flew back to his beloved Bermuda. Just one month had passed since his return from Hawaii. Characteristically, he hit the ground running, and hasn't stopped since. Everyone with whom he has met -- businessmen, hoteliers, entertainers, sponsors and more -- is enthusiastic, and has pledged support.

The official title of Mr. White's concept is The Bermuda Project, and while he admits he is the leader he stresses that it is not about him but the performing arts, and therefore everyone who will become a part of this dream.

The Bank of Bermuda and the BF&M Group are already sponsors -- something Mr.

White says is indispensable to success.

"We are getting a lot of co-operation from our two wonderful sponsors. They have been very, very kind, and it is because of them that I am here.'' For weeks now Bermudians have seen ads for all sorts of things in connection with The Bermuda Project, and apparently the response has been terrific -- so much so, in fact, that great progress has been made on Item 4 of the detailed briefing paper which accompanies this article.

Already, the framework of the all-Bermudian nightclub act, to be called the Calypso Island Review, has been formulated, and a venue almost confirmed.

"I have written the script, and we are presently casting it,'' Mr. White says. "We are getting the costumes designed, and putting a band together. We are going to create an old mangrove forest, and the show is being put on in the mangroves. It's going to be fun. We do a tribute to the Talbots and Celeste and all of the great Bermudian songwriters, as well as new ones.

"We will have five new songs written by young calypsonians. Gary Morris has written some really nice stuff. We have also used some West Indian and reggae music, limbo and gombey. It looks like we are going to have a five-piece band who will do everything from limbo to gombey and modern calypso.'' While not yet ready to reveal the proposed venue for the show, Mr. White says his meetings with hotel management have been very, very positive.

The Bermuda Project Another of his visions is for what he calls "push cart theatre'', whereby a small group of actors/actresses will have their props on a push cart. They will give a very short performance about some aspect of Bermuda's history at places such as Harbour Nights, or in one area or street, then pack up and move along to another area, street, or location and do it all over again.

Similarly, Mr. White envisages a group of "Living History'' actors performing at historical sites around the Island, such as the major forts and Bermuda National Trust historical properties.

Clearly energised by The Bermuda Project, the former Traveller has even written some songs for Bermuda's young performing artists. Successful auditions have also been held for radio announcers, because his aim is also to have one station play all island music, perhaps leading eventually to a station devoted exclusively to all-Bermudian music.

Meanwhile, the process of transferring original recordings, tapes and videos of the Island's great calypsonians and entertainers to digital format is underway as part of creating a national archive, and work is also being done on creating a special Bermuda arts website.

Mr. White also plans to encourage young artists who have made single CD's here to have one or two of their songs put onto a composite disc of local entertainers and get it into the music shops. A CD and T-shirts promoting the Calypso Island Review are another part of the marketing strategy for this big show.

In addition, the former entertainer and advertising executive has held preliminary talks with a well-known local musician to create a calypso marching band, and another facet of his dream includes finding an arranger to convert popular island music to a classical style. "And why can't we have a Bermuda opera?'' he asks. Mr. White also acknowledges that there is a shortage of original gospel material.

"We played a big part in the emancipation. Where are our spirituals about the part we played?'' he wonders.

With regard to the seven illustrative paintings mentioned under Section 7 of The Bermuda Project briefing paper, an artist has already been identified to undertake this project, and work has also begun on designing the fabrics for the Bermudian shirts.

Negotiations are currently under way to create a Performing Arts Equity Fund which will provide working entertainers with hospitalisation benefits and an opportunity to participate in a pension fund.

Already at the helm of The Bermuda Project is what Mr. White calls the "Kick Start Task Force'' which, in addition to himself, comprises Dale Butler, Tom Butterfield, Barbara and Cyril Cooper, Connie Dey, Elsbeth Gibson, Louise Jackson, Ray Medeiros, Conchita Ming, Ruth Thomas and Gavin Wilson.

The Bermuda Project is to become a registered charity, and to that end the task force has appointed a managing board of trustees. Soon they will appoint a paid Project Director. Meanwhile, Mr. White and his team are barrelling ahead, and hope to have everything moving forward by the end of March. Noting that Bermuda is a small Island with a wealth of "great talent'', Mr. White says responsibility for the near-demise of local entertainment industry is collective, and together we must revive it.

"Everybody -- the unions, the hotels, the musicians, the Government, the public -- is responsible for allowing it to die. We have to get excited again.

If we don't excite a whole new generation of talent it's never going to happen,'' he warns.

Looking to the future, and the progress that is being made, the busy visionary admits he is already "really excited''.

"Everyone has been so supportive, and keen to help.'' The way it was: Hotels once employed large numbers of Bermudian musicians, singers, and dancers on a nightly basis. Visitors loved the island sounds, the colourful costumes, and the unique charm of the performers, all of which contributed to a happy holiday experience.