Art centre taking shape in former church, Masonic lodge
New owners renovating historic building in the village
Great things are happening in Keene these days and two of them go hand-in-hand.
First, Keene will soon be blessed with an art centre, and second, the handsome old Methodist Church and late Masonic Lodge has a new purpose and talented, skillful owners.
Tentatively named Little Town Theatre, the art centre is the dream of director and playwright Ida Brown, but would not be possible without her partner in life, Matt Pukarowski. The millwright has been modifying some of the renovations made to the church over the years. Ida’s mother Donna and daughter Bethany Brown pitch in and help too. The family lives in Hastings and were attracted to the area after cottaging on Rice Lake for years.
The main floor of the old church already has a stage and will be set up for dinner theatre. Old pews that came with the building will provide alternative seating, or The Peanut Gallery, as they call it.
Up the beautiful wooden staircase are two huge rooms, one which lends itself to art shows or a dance studio.
The second room retains some mysterious built-in features the Masons left behind. Ida envisions it as a music room for jamming musicians.
Ida’s career has always been with the theatre, writing, directing and running art centres. She has a unique writing style, pairing literary classics with classic rock music, as in her version of Lord of the Flies, set to Pink Floyd. Her current project, Alice in Wonderland, will be set to the music of The Doors.
Her work is designed for a blend of children and parents or grandparents. The adults are encouraged to take acting or musical roles or help with the other numerous needs of theatre production.
A date has not been set for the grand opening, but Ida hopes to have it in late July or August.
Reminders
• Otonabee-South Monaghan Historical Society meeting, Keene library, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Houses of Otonabee and South Monaghan, featuring presentations by photographer Val Crowley and City of Peterborough Heritage Researcher Emily Turner
• The deadline for OSM grads to apply for the Keene Lions Scholarship Award is July 1. Call 705295-6692 or ask at the guidance office.
A farmer’s journals
John Graham Weir kept daily journals from 1880 to 1925. They were donated to Trent Valley Archives by his great-great nephew, William Mitchell and his wife Juanita.
1897 Wed. June 30
I left this morning at half past three and walked to the CPR station in fifty minutes and took the four forty train for Toronto. I was in Toronto at seven o'clock. I left Toronto at ten minutes past five this evening, arrived in town at eight and walked home and found no men.