Put enough monkeys in front of enough typewriters for enough time, the mathematical proposition goes, and sooner or later one of them should bang out “Hamlet.”

If not Shakespeare, then perhaps the Cultural Element of the Bainbridge Island Comprehensive Plan, or just a mayoral proclamation – lesser reads, perhaps, but of a certain local literary value nonetheless. Islanders can contemplate the merits of each during activities beginning at 10 a.m. this morning at the Bainbridge Performing Arts Playhouse.

The occasion is Community Arts Day, to be so proclaimed by the mayor in an address at 11:30 a.m. Her comments will be tucked in amongst music, dance and theater performances reflecting the vast talent with which our community is infused; BPA will announce the lineup for the upcoming 50th anniversary theater season, and the Bainbridge Orchestra will introduce a new conductor.

We all like to think of ourselves as “cultured,” but what does that really mean? Our community has gone so far as to codify its allegiance to the arts and humanities in the Cultural Element to the Comprehensive Plan, a framework by which to integrate the intangibles of the human experience with our urban design, economic development and education.

A mere glance at that document reminds us of the significance of the cultural arena to Bainbridge folk. In December 2004, more than 20 organizations were providing some 1,000 cultural programs each year on the island. Local arts-related businesses and non-profits boasted aggregate annual budgets of nearly $8 million. The Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council directory listed more than 800 musicians, teachers, visual artists and related professionals, while one-quarter of island households had at least one person earning some income from the arts.

None of this would be true were it not for islanders who count on the theater, the museum and the concert hall to enrich their lives, and offer their financial and volunteer support in return. There is something fairly goosebump-inspiring about a bunch of people getting together in a room to do something besides argue (that’s what City Hall is for), and by offering community days like this and the cultural programming it celebrates, we expose the community to the talent and creativity of our peers, prompted through their work to ponder aspects of our lives and livelihoods we might not have seen or considered. Unlike the exclusive, commodity-driven notion of “lifestyle,” it’s the shared experience of our history, our heritage, our language, our stories and our dreams. It’s culture, and it’s what separates us from the chimps.

Granted, the simians might see it a bit differently. And so fittingly, the day includes a performance of David Ives’ “Words, Words, Words” (directed by Kate Carruthers, 3 p.m. at the Playhouse) in which a trio of chimps sit down at the Underwoods to see what masterpieces they can bang out.

If not Shakespeare, we’d settle for next Wednesday’s editorial.