Grand Re-Opening June 20th, 2014

The weekend of June 20 – 22, 2014 was an exciting one in Coos Bay as we reopened our beloved theatre. Here are some more photos from the weekend’s events. You can also find information on the re-opening in the Blogs section.

Board member David Engholm and his family. David was one of the original ETPA members who went to the city about saving the Egyptian.

Herb Stratford, one of our restoration advisors, and Kara Long, our new theatre manager, prepare popcorn samples for the opening.

Board Members Kathy Erickson and Helen Doving are ready to sign new members up and provide information on seat and tile dedications.

One of the painters working on the Egyptian figures painted on each side of the new doors. The figures were literally still drying as the Sneak Preview began.

Board Member Paul Quarino entertains patrons on the Mighty Wurlizter. Paul has maintained this remarkable orchestral organ for some 30 years and it’s always a treat when he is here to play. On this visit he spent two weeks here working and tuning the organ while other last minute work like installing the new front doors and carpet cleaning was still going on. Ordinarily he can tune the organ in one day, but this time he had to grab moments of quiet and people to help by holding down keys for tuning as he could.

ETPA Board President, Greg Rueger, explaining the new facade plans to some of our patrons. Work on that is still in process.

Patrons looking through the book of donors in the lobby of the theatre. Fund raising began in October 2012. We raised over one million dollars from contributions and grants to get the theatre open again. We will need to continue raising funds to complete the interior restoration.

The Grand Re-Opening was Friday, June 20th at 5:00 P.M. Antique cars lined the street in front of the Egyptian, much like they would have back in 1925. Theatre goers gathered first in the “Egyptian Pedway” for remarks from ETPA President Greg Rueger, Mayor Crystal Shoji and Egyptian Theatre Manager, Kara Long.

The first show included an organ concert by Paul Quarino, two silent films that Paul accompanied and a sing-along. The audience participation was great. On Saturday, the theatre was filled with live music from 11:00 to 4:00. Folks could also tour the theatre and look around.

That evening Lee Littlefield played an organ concert and we showed It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Then they made their way over to the front of the theatre for the film cutting instead of the traditional ribbon cutting.

Sunday afternoon Lee played another concert followed by the musical, 1776. Over the course of the weekend over 1000 people attended events at the Egyptian. We hope this is only the beginning of many, many more delightful events in this grand old theatre. We couldn’t have done it without support of all the people in Coos County and beyond. Thank you and we’ll see you at the movies.