For well over a hundred years, Vineyarders have fallen into the spell of a cinematic story, from a nickelodeon to Star Wars at our dear Capawock Theater in Vineyard Haven.
For well over a hundred years, Vineyarders have fallen into the spell of a cinematic story, from a nickelodeon to Star Wars at our dear Capawock Theater in Vineyard Haven. It’s marquee has barely changed. It is an historic treasure of Island life, gathering friends on a snowy night in February tocsail off to the heat of a love story, a mystery, a dramatization of historic deeds, or sheer fantasy.
For decades, dinner and a movie in Vineyard Haven has kept Main street alive with wholesome fun for Islanders and visitors alike. The thought of this beloved landmark sitting on the chopping block for sale to the highest bidder is a dreaded folly to me and so many who love the movies and especially one of the oldest and most precious movie theatres in the country. We have lived through watching celluloid melt before our eyes, reels of film projected out of order in the story, free tickets handed to us mid-movie as we filed outside shaking our heads but never angry with the lady Capawock.
We love the place . . . and now with its beautiful digital projection we have been so proud of her, moving gracefully into the 21st century. If we can preserve lighthouses and historic buildings cannot we band together to save this precious theater to continue for the next generations to feel the continuity of history of an Island treasure that could be the bedrock of an arts district in Vineyard Haven?
Georgia Morris
Vineyard Haven
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The historic Avalon Theater
Vicki Divoll ChilmarkThe historic Avalon Theater in DC was purchased 17 years ago by a nonprofit started by neighbors. It is still run as a successful nonprofit. Here is the story:
About the Theatre
The oldest operating movie house in the area, The Avalon Theatre has been a cornerstone of northwest Washington, DC since its opening in 1923. After the theater was abruptly closed in 2001, a community group formed the nonprofit Avalon Theatre Project, with the mission to reopen the Avalon. An amazing grassroots effort resulted in the successful restoration of the historic theater, which reopened in April 2003. The Avalon now offers exciting and diverse programming, including first-run studio films, independent and foreign films, film festivals, a weekly Wednesday night series, and special programs for students, families and seniors.
Our Mission
The historic Avalon Theatre is a nonprofit, community-supported film and education center in Chevy Chase whose mission is to entertain, educate and inspire the people of metropolitan Washington, DC.
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