LAKEPORT — October is shaping up to be a very busy month for the Soper-Reese. On Oct. 3, we presented our fourth annual fundraiser at the theater for the first time. A good number of volunteers from the community put the finishing touches, transforming the stage and house (theatre-speak for the inside of the theater) into a night club for your Saturday night out on the town. Catering a full sit-down dinner was Blue Wing Saloon & Caf? chef, Mark Linback.
Tulip Hill Winery, Brassfield Estate Winery, Zoom Wines, Steele Wines, Gregory Graham Winery, Six Sigma Ranch & Winery, and Ce?go Vinegarden, have generously donated wines. Providing the musical entertainment for the evening was the award-winning big band sound of John Parkinson and the Mendocino Jazz Band.
The evening began with appetizers and local wines in the new outdoor courtyard, with background music provided by guitarist Dan Meyer. The Early Lake Lions served drinks at a no-host bar in the main lobby. Silent auction items were on display for guests to place their bids before and during dinner.
Shaun Hornby, owner of Hornby”s Furniture Restoration, was the auctioneer for the live auction.
This fundraiser is a part of our drive helping us reach our goal of $100,000 for the completion of our dressing rooms, the green room and the handicap restrooms back stage. The community support for this project has been overwhelming and we thank everyone in the community and especially the Lake County Winegrape Commission for their continued sponsorship of our annual fundraiser along with those who have generously donated items and their time.
We are hosting the KPFZ, Lake County community radio presentation of Country Joe McDonald on Oct. 17. This marks the first time that the Soper-Reese stage has been graced by a star of Woodstock fame. Country Joe, a troubadour in the purest sense of the word, has been entertaining as ever from those days until now and is still going strong.
This marks our fourth collaboration with radio station KPFZ. This has been a wonderful marriage of our venue with their ongoing efforts to broaden the scope of music and public awareness to the people of Lake County. We are very pleased to help our community organizations gain a larger audience.
This brings us to Oct. 24, when we switch from music to a different type of presentation. We are very pleased to be hosting Operation Tango Mike”s showing of the “Spy Pilot Chronicles” by Brian Shul. After 20 years as an Air Force fighter pilot, Brian Shul today is an accomplished author, speaker and photographer. He flew 212 missions in the Vietnam War before being shot down, burned and rescued by Special Forces. He spent a year in hospitals undergoing surgeries and hours of physical therapy. He was able to return to flying jets going on to become an air show demonstration pilot and eventually a TOPGUN instructor. His book,”Sled Driver” is hailed as the definitive essay on the SR-71 and was awarded Aviation Book of the Year by Smithsonian Magazine.
Please join us as this hero talks about his adventures and insights, showing his pictures of the mighty warbirds he has flown and support Ginny Craven and her great efforts to support the troops.
This semester”s ongoing Mendocino College acting class is Acting-Performance, taught by Carol Dobusch. As part of the course, the class will present a show at the beginning of December, produced by the Lake County Arts Council. Be sure to keep looking here for more details about dates and times. Hosting the Mendocino College classes is a perfect way to keep the theatrical arts alive in our community and we are grateful to be their venue of choice.
For more information about these or any upcoming shows and to volunteer at the Soper-Reese, please give the theatre a call at 263-0577 and be sure to visit our Web site: www.SoperReeseThreatre.com.
