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Contact: info@performingartsnect.org / (860) 963-6789

 

After days of rain in northeast CT, the weather was perfect on Sunday, October 1, for Performing Arts of NECT’s 50th anniversary party. Almost 100 guests were treated to bluebird skies, vivid green fields and a spark of autumn color edging the pond at Little Dipper Farm in Brooklyn. The party was both a fundraiser and a well-earned celebration for this volunteer run, non-profit group, which has brought high quality, accessible and affordable professional performing arts to the children and adults of northeast Connecticut for half a century.  It was also a chance to honor important members’ contributions over the years.

 

Inside barn doors wide open to mild air, supporters of Performing Arts enjoyed hors d’oeuvres by the Chef’s Table, a farm-to-table restaurant offering a new and delicious place to dine in the Quiet Corner (formerly the Golden Lamb Buttery). Guests mingled and friends greeted one another warmly in the historic post-and-beam barn and on the deck overlooking bucolic fields and stone walls. Vibrant fall flower arrangements by member Rachel Sarantopoulos adorned tables and vintage posters of past operas graced barnboard walls. Frank Racette (the former Golden Lamb’s pianist) performed background music throughout the afternoon.

 

Performing Arts Board Chair Melissa Zahansky led off a brief presentation that included Hospitality Committee Chair Susan Horn, followed by an entertaining history of the organization by local writer Nancy Weiss. Horn was pleasantly surprised that for the 50th anniversary they had come “full circle back to where our original founders frequently met to chart a course for our then fledgling organization, at a farm and restaurant known as the Golden Lamb.” She thanked the Hospitality Committee of Denise Archambault, Mary Collins, Karen DeLuca, Ann Hinchman, Eliza Kimball, Rachel Sarantopoulos, Lauren Wheaton, and emeritus member Shirley Mongillo. 

 

Zahansky thanked guests for their “continued generosity and volunteerism,” noting this season will feature the largest and most diverse slate of genres Performing Arts has ever presented. “Opera was at the helm of the organization's mission 50 years ago,” she said. “Since then we have added a plethora of community offerings and children’s programming.” In the last decade, Zahansky, a teacher at Rectory School, has witnessed the impact of Performing Arts on her students. She has been excited by expanded programming, including symphony and the Science of Sound program taught by local musician Sally Rogers, plus cosponsored programming with the Loos Center for the Arts in Woodstock. She welcomed some of the pioneers of Performing Arts, honored guests including Betty Hale, John Ostrout, and Nancy Weiss. “These are the people who worked tirelessly on a voluntary basis to make sure that the northeast corner wasn’t forgotten when it came to performing arts, and we’re so thankful.”

 

Nancy Weiss, past Board Chair and longtime supporter of Performing Arts, spoke next, offering warm and humorous historical anecdotes. With affection and respect, she mentioned members including the late Bob Miller and Bob Sloat, the former a “pivotal board member” and the latter, “a marvel…who knew the theatre like the back of his hand and changed light bulbs and electrical problems as easily as he hummed the entire libretto of whatever opera was being presented.” Weiss lauded many other impactful supporters, including Donald Froehlich and his sister, Linda, who catered parties and was “the real secret to our fundraising success.” She finally honored Betty Hale, arts lover, philanthropist and tireless volunteer, who was instrumental in the founding and evolution of Performing Arts because she “kept asking – What’s here for the kids?  How can we get the kids to the theatre?” Betty “answered the question over and over” with her skills at making connections, making people comfortable (from performers to arts supporters), hosting parties, sharing information, saving ephemera that now constitutes an archive, and so much more. 

 

“Everyone here has a memory of what being connected to this group means,” Weiss concluded. “I hope you will share them and enjoy them. Performing Arts has been a remarkable success, first as an artistic endeavor, but even more as a community treasure.  It brought us all together for parties, friendships, reaching out to area children and supporting professional singers and musicians.  Best of all.  It goes on.  Here’s to another 50 years.”

 

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Engage, Enrich, Inspire! Celebrating its 50th season, Performing Arts of Northeast Connecticut is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization that brings high quality, accessible and affordable professional performing arts to Northeast Connecticut and surrounding towns. See www.performingartsnect.org for more information. Follow us! www.facebook.com/performingartsnect