MAN AND MYTH
Local filmmakers explore saint’s life story
Movies won’t be the only type of entertainment this year for St. Patrick’s Day at the Broad Theater in Souderton and Water Tower Cinema in Montgomeryville.
There will also be Irish dancing outside the theaters to help celebrate the holiday.
Inside, the movies will include “St. Patrick: Pilgrimage to Peace,” produced by Souderton residents David and Kathi Peters’ Global Story Films.
“What drew us to the subject of St. Patrick was here’s a man that we all know about, or at least think we do. We take a day to celebrate him every year, but yet for most of us, we know virtually nothing about him,” David Peters said. “Our hope is that, especially this being St. Patrick’s Day, is that people will want to get to know this saint just a little bit better. We wear party hats, we wear green, we drink green beer, but what on earth do we know about this man that’s shrouded in mystery named St. Patrick?”
“We celebrate this guy, but no one really, or very few people, really know his story, and it’s a fascinating one,” Kathi Peters said. “When you really find out what he was all about, it’s pretty phenomenal what he did.”
Many people have said they’d like to visit Ireland, which the movie gives a good view of, she said.
“You get to really see the country, obviously from the perspective of the story, but visually, it’s just beautiful,” she said.
The documentary will be screened at the Broad Theater at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, St. Patrick’s Day. It will run at 4:40 and 7 p.m. March 19, 20, 21, 22, 24 and 25 at Water Tower Cinema. A question and answer period with the Peters’ will follow the screenings on March 19 and 20.
The Irish dance troupe Pride of Erin will be performing outdoors, weather permitting, at 6 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 17 at the Broad Theater and 4 and 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 20 at Water Tower Cinema.
The Pride of Erin School of Irish Dance has taught traditional Irish dance to dancers as young as four and as old as 84, Kristy Wharfe, the school’s co-director, wrote in answer to an email for this article. Classes are held in Souderton, Feasterville, Holland and online, she wrote.
“Our dance school typically performs over 50 shows during the month of March, at area nursing homes, restaurants, schools, weddings, and many other community events. Our last show was in early March last year, before everything shut down,” she wrote.
“We had 43 performances canceled last year. Sadly, we are still not able to entertain the residents at nursing homes or the kids at schools via in person shows, but we have a few shows at outdoor venues this March. Our dancers are thrilled to be able to perform again. Dancing on St. Patrick’s Day is the highlight of the year for many of our dancers and we used to have shows from 7:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. at night on that day - back to back to back shows with so many laughs and memories,” she wrote. “We are thrilled to be able to dance at the theaters this year as this is the last St. Patrick’s Day before many of our dancers head off to college!”
People coming to other movies at the theaters can also stop and watch the dancers, as well as other people being able to see the outdoor performances, Kathi Peters said.
Attendees will have a chance to give a donation to the school, the Peters’ said.
Each year, the school raises funds to help students who love to dance, but could not without assistance afford related expenses such as costumes, shoes and travel, the Peters’ said.