As a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, the Wilmette Theatre relies on donations and support from the community and local businesses to continue its mission of providing quality, educational and entertaining programs to the community. This year, we owe special thanks for major contributions from the Jerome Mirza Foundation, Make It Better Magazine, and North Shore Community Bank & Trust Company, which has been a long time community sponsor of the theatre.
Let’s take a look back at all that we’ve accomplished together in 2015…
In September, the theatre screened “Cyber-Seniors,” a documentary that inspires youth and seniors to connect through technology. The film is an inspiring example of the wonderful things that can happen when generation gaps are bridged, and new ways of connecting are explored.
We were the exclusive suburban host of the Asian Pop-Up Cinema, the signature series of Sophia’s Choice, a new Chicago not-for-profit arts organization under the direction of Chicago-based, Hong Kong-bred cultural entrepreneur Sophia Wong Boccio. Sophia’s Choice was founded to cultivate the general public’s interest in Asian culture via film.
In partnership with the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center’s “Light & Noir: Exiles and Émigrés in Hollywood, 1933-1950” exhibition, the Wilmette Theatre hosted the Light & Noir Film Festival, showing three of the finest films representing the genres of Film Noir, comedy, and anti-Nazi messaging from the 1930s and 1940s with post-screening talkbacks.
The Wilmette Theatre proudly partnered with the Music Institute of Chicago to screen the jazz documentary “Lady Be Good,” a compelling documentary tracing the musical contributions, journeys and obstacles of American women instrumentalists in jazz from the early 20th century to the 1970s, with a talk back from the filmmaker.
These series compliment the theatre’s regular movies that attract patrons from the greater Chicago area and even Wisconsin. Some of the special films screened this year include: “CitizenFour,” “Force Majeure,” “The Hunting Ground,” “Iris,” “Amy,” “Meet the Patels,” “Labyrinth of Lies,” “Rosenwald” and “Meru.”
We are also expanding our live events, often to sold out crowds.
New to the theatre is thought provoking “Conversations With Weigel: A Series Exploring Spiritual Enlightenment.” Chicago journalist and author Jenniffer Weigel hosts this ongoing program with authors who explore all avenues related to spiritual enlightenment. The Dec. 15 program featured Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins.
Story Jam With Stephanie Rogers delivers an evening of soulful songs with a live band, fun stories and lots of laughs during this show featuring personal true stories of fantastic Chicago area storyteller-performers accompanied by original songs.
Thanks to a generous grant from the Jerome Mirza Foundation, this fall we kicked-off a fundraising campaign to replace our worn out seats as well as make other, much-needed building improvements to provide our patrons with an improved experience at the ‘Mette. Stop by and see one of our new seats and compare it to the seats we have now. We hope that you will become a part of history and Take a Seat with us at the Wilmette Theatre!
We are very excited about all of the unique and fantastic events we have lined up for 2016. We encourage you to share with us your ideas and suggestions for programming. As always, thank you to everyone who continues to support this local gem all year long. We hope you will stop by and see what is going on, ‘like’ us on Facebook, and/or visit our website at wilmettetheatre.com and sign up for our weekly emails.
