The growth of arts in Elizabethton and Carter County will soon see a boost with work underway at a local historic landmark.
Bonnie Kate continues to flourish under a restoration project taken on by the Elizabethton/Carter County Community Foundation (ECCF). With Sugar Love Bakery & Cafe experiencing success, work is underway to renovate the theater portion of the building.
Marcia Ross, program coordinator for the Bonnie Kate, and Amanda Honeycutt with Appalachian Printing were busy inside the building Saturday putting on some final touches for upcoming performances.
“Trying to restore the Bonnie Kate… I think is for the purpose of community events that are versatile,” Ross said. “We have a lot of different things we can do inside this room. But the room needs a lot of help.”
Ross cited a variety of areas the ECCF will address, including curtains, electric, paint, and a sprinkler system. The overall goal, according to the coordinator, will be to expand on the stage to move it back to allow more seating for events.
To address seating, a project underway by the organization is the “Bonnie Kate Chair Drive.” Citizens with tired, worn, nonmatching usable chairs are encouraged to donate the pieces to the facility for upcoming performances.
An official event will take place on Saturday, March 18, from 10 a.m. until noon. Following Saturday’s event, the public will be able to donate chairs the rest of the week from 4 to 6 p.m.
The seating will be used for an “experiment” of programs that are on the horizon for the theater portion of the building, Ross explained.
Programs coming up include:
• The Hopwood Players will present a production of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” on Friday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m. with a $10 admission per person.
• The Bonnie Kate Youth Theater will present “Snow White and the Seven and a Half Dwarfs” on Saturday, March 25, at 3 p.m. with free admission.
• Storytime performances with the Knoxville Symphony Strings Ensemble takes place on Wednesday, March 29, at 2:30 p.m. with free admission. The event is sponsored by the Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library.
• The Elizabethton High School Advanced Drama group will perform “Once upon a time … Bedtime Stories (As Told by Our Dad) (Who Messed Them Up) on Friday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 8, at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at the Bonnie Kate for $5.
• “Belle’s Ballet & Tea Time”, a story of Beauty and the Beast, concludes the list of events on Saturday, April 29, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The festivities will take place in the theater area and Sugar Love Cafe with the library and East Tennessee Youth Ballet taking part.
“This would be great for the community to help if they can,” Ross said about the chair drive. “We’d like to have as many as possible. We would end up having to borrow or rent for each show. Even if it takes us awhile to get there, this could be one less thing for us to pay out for, right now, with other items we need to work on.”
With excitement growing in the community for the building, businesses also have an opportunity to contribute to the restoration.
Each show will have a program, which businesses can advertise in. The ad revenue on the programs will go directly into the Bonnie Kate’s fund for future projects. Interested individuals looking to advertise can contact Appalachian Printing at (423) 543-2600.
The public can also contribute with monetary donations. To make a contribution, visit bonniekatetheater.com or a check, contributions, or gifts can be made payable to Elizabethton – Carter County Community Foundation, P.O. Box 695, Elizabethton, TN, 37644-0695. Individuals can stay up to date with the progress at the building by visiting their website.