By Andra Bryan Stefanoni
news@joplinglobe.com
PITTSBURG — Colonial Fox Theater President Vonnie Corsini deemed Friday night’s first major event for the historic theater a success, but not because of good attendance, or the $1,500 raised.
“I think the most important indicator of our success was the community involvement it took to pull it off, and the support from so many different folks,” she said of the “Festival on Broadway” and “Art on Broadway” — activities that were designed to engage the community and to raise funding to off-set restoration and renovation.
The threat of rain on Friday meant a decision to move the event to the recently-vacated National Guard Armory.
“The forecast looked so bad and we couldn’t take a chance on going ahead and having it downtown in front of the Fox, which was a disappointment, but there were the bands, the sound equipment and everything to consider,” Corsini said. “In the end, the festivities were every bit as energetic and fun as we had hoped.”
In what Corsini called a fantastic coming together of the community’s resources, she and her committee pulled off a Kids Fest in which 75 children participated in carnival-like activities and enjoyed snow cones from the Jolly Trolley.
Throughout the evening, the YMCA Dance Company, the Rhythm Doctor, and Pittsburg Community Theater performed; Joe Clark provided grilled hamburgers and sausages; and three area bands added music to the evening.
“The momentum kept going throughout the evening, and the only thing we weren’t able to do because of the change in venue was to have kids put their handprints on the side of our building with their initials on it,” Corsini said. “But we can always do that later. We are going to keep building on what we started.”
At midnight more than 350 people crowded the Armory with props and folding chairs to participate in a viewing of the cult classic, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” something Corsini said would not have been possible were it not for Girard Tarps.
“We were going to show it on the side of the Fox, but when we had to have it in the Armory, they came to our rescue with a giant 15’ x 20’ white tarp so we could still project our movie. I called them Thursday and they made one just for us,” Corsini said.
“Bob Schooley from Seasons Nursery came with a trailer full of plants to soften the stages we had set up, so there were roses and ferns and pampas grass, which looked fantastic.”
When upon initial inspection Corsini found that the Armory was still littered with office furniture left behind from the National Guard, Roger Heckert construction company employees showed up to clean out the building in 45 minutes.
“Jim Bishop loaned us his moving vans and with Roger we went around and picked up the stages to set up, and then Heckert’s crew helped us set up the staging area,” she said. “I put out a plea for help to break everything down afterward, and the guys from PSU’s Sigma Epsilon fraternity helped us.”
“There were so many people who contributed in some way — I’m sure I’m forgetting someone — but overall I would say it was just a great community experience through such a wide range of ages,” she said. “And this is just the beginning. There is so much more we want to do.”
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