Travelogue and accompanying food to serve as ETC fundraiser
THE ELMIRA THEATRE COMPANY wants to take you on a trip around the world – or at least give you a taste.
Joe Brenner and his wife Allison have just returned from an eight-month tour of 38 countries, and they want to share their trip with theatergoers and friends.
The event will double as a fundraiser for the Elmira Theatre Company, who are hoping to raise a bit of money to help upgrade their building.
“There will be exhibits and we are going to do a Powerpoint presentation,” said Brenner. “It is not just about showing people our trip around the world, but to show others that if they have this dream, to just go do it.”
There will be food and drink made in some of the countries the pair visited, all for visitors to come and share.
“There will be some desserts, some chips because there are some very bizarre flavoured chips from around the world. We found shrimp flavoured chips, octopus flavoured chips, or ham and cheese sandwich. Some of those we thought would be good for people to try. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the deep-fried grasshoppers here,” he said with a laugh. “There will be beers and wines, and some mixed drinks also. But they are from around the world. The wine will be from South Africa, Chile, Australia, and more, and the beers will be from South America and Europe. Probably more European beers, they are more the beer connoisseurs, from Germany, Czech Republic and more.”
They are asking that attendees donate what they can, but suggest $10 for a night of socializing and munching on goodies from countries afar. The money raised will go directly back to the theatre company and their facilities.
“It is for the theatre,” he said. “In all honesty, we haven’t quite decided what is it going to go towards, but probably some upgrades, like some work on the floor. We have been in there ten years now and it is still a cement floor. We have talked about painting, or tile or something like that. That is one of the big ones. Even if we just started in the bathroom or the kitchen. After ten years, there are a few things. It will be ten years this November.” Of the 38 countries the couple visited over the last eight months, Brenner says their favourite stop was at Machu Picchu in the Andes mountains in Peru.
“It was beautiful,” he said. “Thailand and Cambodia were both pretty awesome as well.”
The evening event takes place tonight, June 23, at 7 p.m. at the Elmira Theatre Company at 64 Howard Ave. The acting group will also be selling their subscription tickets ahead of their November season start.