"The Creative Arts Collective, the new operators of the Harbor Theatre, have hit the ground running with a GoFundMe campaign and a cleanup day planned for Saturday.
This is all designed to get the theater ready for the first performing arts classes that members hope to see start in October.
“We have built a whole program; classes, community outreach and a full seasons of shows,” said Tia Madison, collective member and professor at Napa Valley College.
The collective is still working out the specific details of what will be offered when. Madison said that more information of the Harbor Arts Center at Harbor Theatre’s schedule will be released soon.
The Suisun City Council approved a five-year lease agreement with the collective last week, giving the group of more than 200 professional artists and educators a home.
They have previously presented performances, classes and events at venues all over the county that have ranged from libraries and community centers to dance studios and theaters.
“This is huge,” Madison said of what the theater means for the collective. “This is almost beyond what we could have imagined.”
The Harbor Theatre had been used by Solano Community College’s theater program since the theater was built in 1999. That group had moved out last year and Suisun City started casting about for new users in April.
The collective has started establishing itself there as the Harbor Arts Center at Harbor Theatre.
The group had raised $2,855 as of Wednesday, putting it halfway to its goal of raising an initial $5,500 to clean up, paint and fix up the theater. Those interested in helping meet the goal can donate by going to www.gofundme.com/kq38tqgc.
The group also needs to raise $50,000 over the next three months to cover all of the costs of getting the theater’s proposed programs going, according to collective member David Rodgers’ posting on the GoFundMe site.
Rodgers said the $5,500 goal will help the organization on the way to getting $10,000 that’s needed by end of September.
The cleanup day will occur from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the theater, which is located at 720 Main St. Community volunteers are welcome and should come dressed in clothes that can get dirty.
“Come to the theater,” Madison said. “We will have the (cleaning) supplies.”
There are also plans to host a community day with events, acting workshops and fundraising to formally introduce the organization to the town and reach out to other performing arts groups that might want to use the theater.
Madison said the collective already has gotten inquiries from other groups.
“This is a community venue,” Madison said of the theater. “We really want to bring the arts to Solano County.”" (
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