SHELBURNE FALLS — Dozens of community members gathered outside the newly renamed Shelburne Falls Theater at Memorial Hall at 51 Bridge St. on Sunday afternoon for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of Phase 2 of the Memorial Hall Association’s three-phase renovation plan.
Sunday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by a grand reopening party featuring live performances by local musicians and emceed by Heath native Sarah Hartshorne.
“What’s exciting for us at the chamber is that we know that that investment doesn’t stop today,” said Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, to kick off a series of speeches. “It multiplies every time we draw a new audience to this theater, every time the lights go down, every single time a family falls in love with the arts and with Shelburne Falls.”
Other speakers included Memorial Hall Association President Jim Kessler, Selectboard member Andrew Baker; Shelburne Falls Steering Committee Coordinator Cate Chadwick; Massachusetts Cultural Council Deputy Executive Director David Slatery; and state Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Deerfield.
Martha Thurber, a Buckland resident and supporter of the Memorial Hall Association that manages the theater, came out to the ceremony for the community aspect.
“It’s just a great event,” Thurber said. “It says a lot about this community, that they were able to raise that much money and make this happen.”
The Phase 2 renovations included new Emerson-style seating, repaired flooring and refurbished ceiling tiles. The Memorial Hall Association raised and spent about $500,000 — consisting of Massachusetts Cultural Council grant funding, a match by the town of Shelburne and private donations — to complete the renovations. Phase 1 included replacing the elevator, supported by federal funds.
“It’s just miraculous what we’ve been able to do,” Kessler said as he admired the improved theater, decorated with colorful flowers and butterflies provided by The Art Garden.
Fred DeVecca, Shelburne Falls resident and former manager of Pothole Pictures, the theater’s film program, deeply appreciates that the renovations maintained the historic theater’s original aesthetics.
“This is fantastic,” DeVecca said. “[The theater] still feels how it felt in the 1930s,” when it was rebuilt after a fire nearly destroyed it completely.
Once community members had filed into the theater and sat down in the new cushioned seats, the after-party commenced with remarks by Janice Sorenson, who produced the evening’s live performances. Sarah Hartshorne delivered her opening monologue before introducing the first band of the night, Tandem Jump. Other performances included Wild Bill & Big Trouble, theater by Creekhouse Quagmire Productions, Tory Hanna of Whiskey Treaty Roadshow and Robin Lane with Party Emergency.
The third phase of the Memorial Hall Association’s renovation plan aims to replace the theater curtain and to improve the sound, lighting, electric, projection, and heating and cooling systems. This final phase will be more costly — the total cost of the project, including the now-complete Phase 2 renovations, will total about $1.2 million.
Kessler said his vision for the future is to foster more community partnerships centering around the theater. The theater already has fundraiser plans with New England Public Media and the Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club, to name a couple.
“We want to work with as many people as we can,” Kessler said.
During his speech, Kessler told the story of a fundraising consultant hired six years ago by the Memorial Hall Association to evaluate whether the renovations would be possible.
“The fundraising consultant looked at our project, examined the potential donors in the area and the wealth of the community, looked at the challenges and obstacles we would face and said, ‘We quit. You are not ready for this challenge. This will never happen,’” Kessler said.
Nevertheless, “It happened. We did it,” Kessler continued. “This is a great miracle, and it’s only a miracle because of the people who’ve worked so hard to make this happen.”
To learn more about the Shelburne Falls Theater at Memorial Hall or to donate toward the renovation efforts, visit shelburnefallsmemorialhall.org.