If it weren’t for the dozens of volunteers at The Kate, the show just would not go on. Since September 2009 when the cultural arts center opened in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, the crowd of folks helping out has been amazing and they deserved, and deserve some recognition. The Guild recognition ceremony will of course now be an annual event to be able to give those pats on the back that are so deserved. A big shout out to Kate Trustee, Pauline Kezer who so long ago got the Guild rolling.
At this year’s event there were some individuals honored that went above and beyond. Mind you these are all folks just volunteering but are making such a difference. You will never go to The Kate and not see some of the individuals guiding you to your seat, answering questions, giving tours, stuffing envelopes, I could go on and on and on.
Among the honorees, was Pat Schneider. Pat started the Boutique at The Kate, a wonderful alcove where you can purchase wonderful things concerning the theater and the iconic actress for which it is named, Katharine Hepburn. But thing sweren’t always so pretty, Pat first started selling items five years ago out of a storage room at the Town Hall before the theater opened. Initially there were t-shirts and hats. I remember buying a Kate sweatshirt in the early days out of her trunk. Boy have we grown since then. Pat takes such pride in her work and it shows. Also thanks to her wonderful volunteers who spend so many hours helping her. Three stand outs helping Pat were recognized as Patsy Flanagan, Corrine Ingellis and Maureen Prior.
In the category of Theater Volunteer which included time spent, parking cars, house managing, ushering, greeting and mailings, the three who worked the most hours were Bev Musgrove, Edie Riggio and Gerhard Krauland.
The big honor, Volunteer of the Year went to Sueing. She never stops and we joke she has a cot at the theater. She was, and is, willing to work every show.
Sueing is always smiling and is a joy to be around. Congrats, Sueing for being The Kate’s first ever Volunteer of the Year!
Never to be left in the wake, the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center and Theater is and has been for some time on Facebook, and now we’re on Twitter. We laugh at the latest technology and then get on board. Find us at @Cometothekate.
Now if you’re whiling away the time, you will never missing anything going on at The Kate, ever and that is our intention.
The Kate is such a vibrant center in Hepburn’s beloved Old Saybrook, Connecticut, that the world needs to know about it to keep us front and center always.
The avatar of Hepburn on the Twitter page is from a huge gathering of stars back in the day at MGM Grand.
So welcome The Kate to Twitter and when you see this, retweet for us if you please. You’ll be helping the arts and this non-profit “gem of a place with a movie star name” thrive. Thank you kindly.
Pianist, George Winston sold out The Kate at his March 6th, concert. Winston is pictured here with the Executive Director of The Kate, Chuck Still.
You could hear a pin drop in the place as he played masterfully for the crowd. Winston introduced each piece and then to work on the ivories. Not only did he wow the crowd with his piano playing, but also the acoustic guitar and a selection on the harmonica.
Winston met after the concert with a few board members to say how fond he was of the sound and the lighting in the theater and that he would like to return to the venue to play.
He’s rather a shy kind of chap, but personable and a perfectionist at what he does.
Thanks, George for sharing your wonderful talent and do come back.
The Connecticut Film Festival is coming to The Kate over Valentine’s Weekend. Get tickets and bring your honey to see more than a dozen films made in Connecticut.
We’re the new Hollywood East you know, and you’ll have a front row seat to what is going on in this state at The Kate.
You’ll get to meet a lot of great innovators at this event at a reception that will also be held here.
We’re really excited about this event as many may have no known that the theater is also a film venue.
In the coming years we hope to really establish this theater as the place to be for film and premieres.
Legendary actress, Katharine Hepburn, born in Hartford, Connecticut and who called Old Saybrook, Connecticut her paradise, will be honored this year with a U.S. postal stamp. It will be unveiled on the 4-time Academy Award winning actress’s birthday which is May 12th.
Hepburn made more than 40 films. Hepburn was known for doing it “her” way and paved the way for women to be independent and free thinkers.
It is the hope of those of us on the Board of Trustees of the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, that the stamp may be presented at her namesake theater in Old Saybrook.
The Washington Post has a look at all the recipients of stamps this year. Those being honored include Nobel Prize winner, Mother Teresa cowboy, Roy Rogers, Kate Smith of “God Bless America” song fame, and Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge.
Board of Trustee, Member, Elaine Staplins, a native Old Saybrookian, was among the initial select group of folks to help open the theater. Elaine has been keeping a close watch on the Hepburn stamp, she has known it was going to happen for several years. We thank Elaine for all she has done and continues to do, she is amazing.
So keep your fingers crossed that the theater will get national media coverage when the stamp is unveiled this spring.
For more on the Hepburn stamp you can go to Playbill’s blog written by Judy Samelson who is an authority on Miss Hepburn. Thank you so much, Judy!
Pianist, George Winston sold out The Kate at his March 6th, concert. Winston is pictured here with the Executive Director of The Kate, Chuck Still.
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