An Update on Sewickley's Village Theater!

The Sewickley community is closer now than ever before in seeing the return of a local family movie theater!  In light of its current capital campaign, the recently 501(c)3 certified Village Theater Company held a wonderfully successful Theater Odyssey event this weekend at the Weldge family barN, raising over $100,000 in one night!  The evening offered the sold out crowd a live dinner auction from delicious local bistros.  A silent auction also took place, thanks to participating Sewickley Village businesses.  A surprise donation was presented from the Wheat and Stevenson family in the form of two paintings of Comedy and Tragedy that hung for years in the original Sewickley Theater.   

These funds will be put toward the $1.5 million needed in pledged support for Village Theater Company to break ground in constructing a two-screen cinema that will host  community screenings, first-run independent and foreign films, classic films with educational programming, second-run films, live-streaming and lecture speaking engagements.   The Village Theater Company’s goal is to provide a community asset that will round out and strengthen the already flourishing Sewickley neighborhood and business district by attracting investments and increasing property value while simultaneously avoiding land acquisition cost, as the lot on Walnut is already vacant and up for grabs. 

A community theater will provide entertainment for all ages, while promoting education and public education of the arts.  The theater will also support local filmmakers and give the community access to various film festivals by teaming up with Pittsburgh Filmmakers, a well-established organization that will oversee the functioning of the future theater.  Local organizations and school districts will be able to take advantage of this venue space to enhance their programming.  Executive Director of Laughlin Children’s Center Doug Florey, explains how this theater will help his non-profit: “Laughlin is excited to host its ongoing speaker series here in The Village rather than at a convention hotel offsite, as we’ve done in the past.”

All donations are tax-deductible and can be made by visiting VTC’s website!  Village Theater Company’s capital campaign is close to reaching its successful halfway mark.  Join many others in establishing what will prove to be a Sewickley community legacy!

For pictures from the recent Theater Odyssey event at The BarN, visit VTC's facebook page!