HARRISTON – The Harriston Historical Society is partnering with the Grey Wellington Theatre Guild (GWTG) to celebrate the guild’s 50th anniversary.
A three-room display has been set up on the top floor of the Harriston branch of the Wellington County Library.
The display features historical information about the guild as well as photographs, memorabilia, costumes and props.
The display is open during regular library hours. There is no charge to visit, but donations to the historical society are welcome.
“We are proud to share our rich history with the community through this display in cooperation with the Harriston Historical Society, as well as through our upcoming 50th anniversary gala in September,” said GWTG president Peggy Raftis.
The Sept. 7 gala, hosted by the GWTG and the Harriston Legion, will feature dinner at the Legion and a show at the Harriston Town Hall Theatre, including musical entertainment culled from the guild’s history.
Tickets, $45 until Aug. 1 and $55 after that date, are available through Eventbrite, at gwtheatreguild.com, gwtheatreguild@gmail.com, 519-338-2778, or by visiting the Harriston Legion.
The guild is also preparing for the premiere event of the 50th anniversary season, a production Anne of Green Gables the Musical from Nov. 22 to Dec. 7.
GWTG history
The guild was founded in Mount Forest in 1974 by the late Patrick C. Smith. The first production was a one-man show, An Evening with Mark Twain, featuring Smith, who put the production together with a small group of founding members.
In the early days, the group staged performances in the Mount Forest high school auditorium and rehearsed in rented accommodations downtown.
Later the opportunity arose to lease the theatre space above the Harriston Town Hall and the first show in the guild’s new home was staged on Nov. 3, 1979.
Over the years the guild has staged dozens of comedies, dramas and musicals penned by both well-known and homegrown playwrights, featuring casts of actors drawn from the Grey-Wellington region and beyond.
In 2009 the guild founded a summer youth theatre program which has provided hundreds of local youth with the opportunity to participate in a live stage production. The guild is also celebrating the 15th anniversary of its first youth theatre production.
For more information on the guild’s history go to greywellingtontheatre.com.
Grey Wellington Theatre Guild information, memorabilia, photographs celebrating the guild’s 50th anniversary are on display in the exhibit. Submitted photo
