SENIOR COALITION ON A WORLD TOUR

For August, Senior Coalition took a World Tour! The World Theatre House Manager, Taylor Moore, took us on a detailed visit, showing us all the newest and coolest highlights.

After three years of renovations and support from the loving and contributing community, Kearney native/Hollywood Screenwriter Jon Bokenkamp launched the reopening of the World Theatre in 2012. Using the small number of original pictures available and the original blueprints from 1926, the World Theatre Foundation was able to keep the historic feel of a 1920’s vaudeville theatre alive.

Revisiting its role as Gerber Sweet Shop, which previously resided in that same corner store from 1940-1948, The Sweets Shop continues to capture the nostalgic touch with candies from past generations and pleases the eye when entering from the lobby of the theatre to see the white walls and glass candy display domes in the windows.

The south side of the lobby area holds an elegant lounge with tall black walls where visitors can gaze at the unique, yet spectacular art pieces while relaxing on the soft comfortable furniture as they await their feature presentation.

We were fortunate enough to watch a documentary, created by the Chamber’s one and only Ryan Range, titled “When the World Closed”. The film focused on the efforts made to restore the theatre, as well as the extra involvement The World had in the community during the COVID -19 pandemic.

A special guest, Bridget Lavene, joined us from Downtown Kearney to tell us more about different activities coming up. She told us about how the spaces are used in the downtown area, as well as the maintenance of the bricks on Central Avenue. She mentioned the Downtown Improvement Board, which is open to the public, meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 8 AM at City Hall, Council Chambers, (18 E. 22nd Street, 2nd Floor). Those that wish to support Downtown Kearney in upcoming changes and improvements are encouraged to attend.