Three Cheers for the Fine Arts Theatre and Theatre Creamery Being Open Again!

It has been more than a year since the passing of Steve Trumble and the subsequent shutdown of the theater. In this last year I have watched the movie posters that hung in the marquee frames by the entrance fade to colorless. It always made me sad… and worried. Would we get our beloved little movie theater back? Who would buy it? What if it got torn down?

In March I told you that the theater has new owners who are going to keep running it as a theater, such great news! And they even had that Oscar Shorts event for two days in March where they invited the public to come in for free and watch all of the short films that were nominated for Oscars. During those events Les and Dafna took the time to  introduce themselves and talk about their vision for the theater, often having to wait for the applause to settle down before they could speak again. 

As Les and Dafna try to get a feel for the local movie appetite, be sure to show up when they’ve got something you like. Follow them on Facebook and their website to stay abreast of whatever they have going on. 

And speaking of appetites, with the opening of the theater comes the opening of Theatre Creamery, the ice cream parlor next door. It will be good to have that as an option right in the downtown area again. 

I drove by the theater the other day and was so happy to see new movie posters hung in the marquee. The grand opening kicked off yesterday, May 20th, with “Downton Abbey, a New Era”, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (which seems to be getting more and more popular as people hear about how amazing it is), and “The Duke.” I hope you get a chance to see one of these movies this weekend in celebration of the work Dafna and Les have done and the investment they have made in our community. 

Looking forward to seeing you all in and around the downtown!

The Fine Arts Theatre Will be Showing the Oscar Nominated Shorts, FREE, March 26 & 27

It's been one year since Steve Trumble's passing and the closing of the Fine Arts Theatre. In the last year many in the community feared that it would never open again. So it was with great excitement that last month the purchase of the theater by Dafna Krouk-Gordon and Les Gordon was announced. And if you've been wondering about the reopening of the ice cream parlor next door, they bought that, too! 

Dafna runs a non-profit, Toward Independent Living and Learning, that offers day programs, housing, vocational training, and more to people with disabilities. One of Dafna's and Les's hopes is to use the theater and creamery for vocational training. 

The Fine Arts won't officially be open until later in the year, with the creamery hopefully opening in April, but they have been anxious to start the celebrating in Maynard. They're having a Grand "Pre-Opening" by offering the community the chance to see the Oscar Nominated Shorts, and they're doing it at no charge! That's right, admission is free, but you do need to have tickets for seating since the theaters will be at a somewhat limited capacity. There is a 4-ticket limit per person. 

The screenings of the shorts will be on: 
Saturday, March 26th, 7pm
Sunday, March 27th, 3pm

The creamery will open for this special event one hour before the start times. Theater doors will open and concessions will be available thirty minutes before start times.

Here's what's happening on each of the two days:

Theater 1, which seats 300, will be showing the 5 Oscar Nominated Action Shorts, followed by the 5 Animation Shorts. (Just because it's animated doesn't necessarily make it kid friendly, so check the previews and use your judgement.) The runtime for all of these shorts is approximately three hours.

Theater 2, which seats 120, will be showing each of the Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts. The total runtime is approximately three hours.

By attending both days, you can see all fifteen of the Oscar Nominated Shorts!

You can get your tickets in advance (which is highly advised) on Friday evening, March 25th from 5-8pm. Tickets are color coded, so think about which shorts you'd like to see on which dates:

3/26, 7pm, theater 1, Action and Animation Shorts: RED ticket

3/26, 7pm, theater 2, Documentary Shorts: WHITE ticket

3/27, 3pm, theater 1, Action and Animation Shorts: YELLOW ticket

3/27, 3pm, theater 2, Documentary Shorts: BLUE ticket

Any tickets that still remain will be available at the Fine Arts Theatre--on Saturday you can try to get a same-day ticket starting at 4pm, and on Sunday starting at 1pm.

The Maynard Public Library is allowing the use of their parking lot if the municipal lots get full. And don't forget to make a night of it by eating at one of the many restaurants Maynard has to offer!

Let's help Dafna and Les celebrate by showing up for this fantastic event!

Lost Without ArtSpace

 It’s been about seven months since I’ve been able to work in my studio at ArtSpace Maynard. That’s where my hats are born and where I make my mixed-media collages. I’m feeling a little lost without ArtSpace; a place where I could go on a daily basis to pour out my creativity, and gather with fellow artists. It’s where we would exchange ideas, offer critiques, and provide encouragement to each other.

Over the years, ArtSpace has worked ever harder to create a more vibrant space to welcome and inspire people from Maynard and the surrounding areas. In 2020 and 2021 some work done on our building revealed safety concerns and consequently half of the building needed to be closed to use. My studio was one of the ones affected. I am just one of the nearly two thirds of our artists who have been displaced. 

I have met so many people in Maynard through my various interests, but none have brought me as much of a sense of community as ArtSpace has. I joined in 2004–it's hard to believe that it’s been eighteen years. Little kids that tried on hats with me when they were in preschool are now off at college! Through the years, my studio at ArtSpace has given me more of a connection to Maynard. It gave me a place where I could welcome people, where we could talk, laugh, and share. We’d chat about the town, artmaking, the other artists; really whatever people were interested in. 

As the years passed, whenever ArtSpace would be hosting community events, like Open Studios or the Holiday Sale, I always struggled about whether to be in my studio putting hats on people (which I really love to do, I might add) or welcoming people to this special place. The struggle was because, as much as I love putting my hats on people, I really love to share the community of ArtSpace–I love to take people through the building and introduce them to the amazing artists we have here. I love to talk about what I know about our various artists and share insights I’ve learned about their art. I love the shy curiosity new visitors bring, and I love even more having them leave with connection, understanding, and a deeper appreciation for the varied processes of making art. 

My hope is that all the artists will be back in the studio soon and that we’ll be opening our doors to the community again, but it seems more likely that it won’t be till the summer. Our Board of Directors is being very thoughtful about hiring the right people and listening to all the experts to get us through this whole difficult process. So while I really long to be there making my hats, I’m confident that when we come out of this we’re going to be in much better shape than we have ever been. One of the most important things we need is to have the town renew our lease. You can help by letting the Selectboard know that you value ArtSpace in the community.

I hope you’ve had a chance to visit ArtSpace. If you haven’t, I look forward to welcoming you there when all this is done. If you want to keep track of ArtSpace, if you're interested in getting a studio (put your name on a waitlist), or if you want to make a donation (we are a nonprofit, 501c3 organization), here’s a link. If you would send a note to the Selectboard letting them know that we are important to Maynard, I would really appreciate it. You can send notes to: Select Board, 195 Main St., Maynard, MA 01754, or email Becky Mosca (she's the Select Board's Admin) at bmosca@townofmaynard.net. Thank you so much!