Opera House Players to Present “Gift of the Magi” Dinner Theater
Members of the newly reformed Opera House Players will offer its first Christmas Season Dinner Theater when it presents O. Henry’s short story, “The Gift of the Magi”.
The Players, under the direction of veteran actor and director Jay Perdue, selected this classic tale as its initial Christmas offering for its simple message and seasonal appeal. O. Henry’s “Gift” was adapted for stage by Mindy Starns Clark of the Eldridge Publishing Company and is a perfect selection to launch what is planned to become an annual holiday event at the Opera House.
The performance will take place in the Rorick Room of the Fayette Opera House on Saturday, December 10th at 6:00 p.m. and again on Sunday December 11th at 12:30 noon.
Tickets for the event are $20.00 per person which includes the cost of the dinner served by Opera House Catering.
Reservations may be made by calling the Fayette Opera House at (419) 237-3111 and leaving your name & number of dinner reservations.
Seating is limited.
Christmas In Fayette Starts with Santa’s Parade on Nov. 25th
In what has become an annual Holiday Tradition; Christmas in Fayette will take a new turn this year when the celebration opens with a mini parade welcoming Santa to Fayette beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the Fayette Normal Memorial Library on Friday, November 25th.
Preceding the parade (at 9:30), the Librarians will open the doors of the library for the reading of a Christmas Story and a crafts project for the kids.
Santa, escorted into town by the Fire Department, will meet the kids at the Library and will then lead them in a “mini parade” from the Library to the Opera House.
On arrival at the Opera House, Santa will then greet the kids and give them a chance to share their Christmas Wishes, decorate a Christmas Cookie, enjoy a free Hot Dog (parents too) select a gift for their “special person” and in short, start the Christmas Season off in style.
This event is made possible through the generous support and co-operation of the Gorham Fayette Fire Department, the Normal Memorial Library, the Community Development Corporation of Fayette, Ohio, the Fayette Opera House Association and the Bull Thistle Committee…..and of course, with the support of Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Lion’s Club to Sell Christmas Trees on Opera House Green
Sales to Begin on Friday Morning, Nov. 25th to Celebrate Santa’s Arrival.
The sale of fresh cut Christmas Trees returns to Fayette courtesy of the members of the Fayette Lions Club.
This hard working and long serving community organization rekindles this Christmas Tradition in 2016 through the efforts of their members.
In an era when people are caught up in the rush of the Holiday Season, the Lion’s Club’s Christmas Tree Sale is a welcome reminder of Christmas’s Past.
The sale will continue throughout the Christmas Season. For additional information, contact any Lion’s Club Member, or stop by the Opera House Green!
All proceeds underwrite the many worthy projects supported by the Fayette Lions Club.
National “Shop Local” Initiative on Saturday, Nov. 26th
With one month until Christmas Morning, Fayette’s Merchants will join other merchants from communities throughout the nation celebrating “Shop Local” on Saturday, November 26th. This effort is designed to call shoppers attentions to the many local merchants and suppliers who populate our Main Street and make their livelihood serving this community. From food to toys, chain saws to gift certificates, from the practical gift to hand crafted items made by local crafts people, let our merchants know how much their presence means to their neighbors. SHOP LOCAL!
While you may not see the promotional glitz that surrounds big box retailer’s “Christmas Specials”, you can rest assured, local merchants will be there to meet your needs….just as they do all year long.
Fayette Opera House to Host a 19th Century “Old Tyme Christmas”
The second concert of the Fayette Opera House’s “2016-17 Guest Artist Series” will take place on Sunday, December 4th at 3:00 p.m. and feature guest organist, Fairfield, Michigan’s Wayne Carpenter in a program entitled: “An Old Tyme Christmas”.
This concert is the first of two in the Glasgow Reed Organ Series and the second in the acclaimed Opera House Guest Artist Series which has entered its 43rd continual season this year.
According to Opera House Director Tom Spiess, this specific concert recognizes the lasting impact that the end of the 19th Century has had on the citizens of the 21st Century.
“Our Opera House was constructed in 1898 during the McKinnley administration, the Mason & Hamlin Reed Organ was built in 1890, and Fayette, as well of most of the communities in the Bean Creek Valley Region were incorporated in the latter quarter of the 19th Century” said Spiess. He further noted that at during the same time period, Fayette was blessed to have the Fayette Normal College of Music & Business (which later morphed into Fayette Normal University) located within the Village of Fayette. “That learning institution proudly boasted of its music program and organ courses,” said Spiess. With students from seventeen states, Canada, and the Montana Territory, The Normal’s impact on music education was considerable.
Since the acquisition of the rare 1890’s vintage Mason & Hamlin Organ (restored by Don Glasgow in 2000), the sounds of the reed organ once again fill the Ginnivan Auditorium. Consequently, the Programming Committee at the Opera House determined that it would be appropriate to present a concert that featured the instruments and music of that period. So an “Old Tyme Christmas” will be presented in the authentic and acoustically perfect environment of the Opera House, just as it might have been in 1898. Audience members are warned in advance, the concert is interactive! Be prepared to sing, and share.
In addition to our featured organist, other musicians and personalities will join Mr. Carpenter on stage to remind the audience of Christmases Past and to rekindle our interest in, and respect for, the contributions of those who have made This Season and our lives….Special.
As is the tradition at Fayette’s historic Opera House, a post concert reception will be presented in the Rorick Room.
Doors to the Opera House will open at 2:00 p.m. with the doors to the Ginnivan Auditorium opened at 2:30.
Tickets for the event are $12.00 for adults (23 and above) and $10.00 for students (13-22) and senior citizens (60 and older). Reservations may be made by calling (419) 237-311 and leaving your name and the number of tickets requested.
Regional Historian & Journalist to Sign Books at Opera House
Over the past few years, the Fayette Opera House has hosted several notable book signing events. None promises to be more intriguing than Don Allison’s upcoming book signing to be held on Wednesday, November 30th at 6:30. In a talk entitled “Ghosts busted: Beyond the Fear” Mr. Allison will address the paranormal.
Allison will report that testimony throughout recorded history proves beyond a reasonable doubt that ghosts, or energy giving us the impression of ghosts, do indeed exist. People of impeccable reputations, with no reason to lie, have sworn to paranormal encounters.
For whatever reason – perhaps fear, perhaps superstition – many people refuse to even consider the possibility of ghosts. In fact, they will go on the attack against those who do share their experiences.
As a veteran award-winning daily newspaper editor Don Allison used to be among those devout skeptics, even going so far as to doubt his own grandmother’s claims of experiences in a haunted house. But after encountering the unexplained many times, he reluctantly concluded he indeed had experienced the paranormal. Eventually, after what he described as a mind-blowing paranormal encounter at Gettysburg, Pa., he could contain his curiosity no longer. He decided to write about his experiences, and to go a step further – to share the science behind what he had encountered.
The result is the latest volume from Faded Banner Publications, “I Met a Ghost at Gettysburg: A Journalist’s Journey into the Paranormal.”
Allison said fear of people’s reactions to a book on this topic made him think long and hard before tackling this subject. “Once I decided to proceed with this book,” he explains, “I realized I could hold nothing back. I am treating the paranormal as I would any other topic. I am sharing my own experiences and what I have learned from research. I am passing on what other people have told me about the subject and in some cases their own perceptions of what I have experienced.”
Mr. Allison’s visit is sponsored by the Bean Creek Valley History Center. The book signing will take place in the historic one hundred and eighteen year old Fayette Opera House which is located in downtown Fayette, Ohio. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. with refreshments being served. For questions or inquiries contact: Colleen Rufenacht at 419-388-3518. Parking is available on the street and in the Opera House Green Parking Lot.
INFORMATION PROVIDED