Saturday, the Superior Dance Studio held its first concert at the Superior Auditorium. It as the first time since the Superior Auditorium has reopened that the balcony opened to provide seating for a live audience. The audience sat in a climate controlled atmosphere with excellent acoustics for more than an hour with minimal coming and going.
Saturday the Superior Dance Studio held its first concert at the Superior Auditorium. Above, (from left), Amelia Phillips, Carley Baker and Brendle Schardt stand in front of their instructor, Cailey Hanson, and watch other dancers perform on stage.
This week the committee working on restoration of The Superior Auditorium has formalized the details of the "Alumni and Friends Challenge" that is launching this month. Julie (Hill) (SHS Class of 1980) and Wayne Allison have challenged alumni and the community to raise funds for continuing work on the auditorium and have pledged to match up to $30,000 of funds raised.
Julie is issuing this challenge to honor her parents, the late Bill and Lorna Hill. The Hill family along with Julie's grandparents, Ben and Hazel Hill and Ed and Rosa Tietjen, all lived and worked in Superior. Their love and pride for the community was apparent and infectious and they told many stories of events at the auditorium.
When asked to explain why she wanted to join in the challenge, this is how Julie explained it. Although she graduated from Superior High School in 1980, she frequently traveled back "home" to be with her father who lived here until last August. She stated, "To this day when asked I proudly tell people I am from Superior, Nebraska." She now lives in Oklahoma, but Superior is and always will be her home."
Julie said her fondest memory of the Auditorium was going with her parents to the annual PTA carnival. She especially enjoyed the cake walk and spent every dime she had trying to win. Despite endless tries, she never won and 42 years later she still smiles and laughs when she tells the story. Little did she know that the lessons of losing at the cake walk would help prepare her for many lessons in life to come."
Funds generated by the challenge will be dedicated to much needed exterior repairs of the building. A contractor has visited the building several times and provided a bid for tuckpointing. This means that every mortar joint in the building's brick and limestone will be inspected and re-mortared if needed. The contractor remarked that for a building nearly 90 years old, much of the brickwork looks very good. But areas that have deteriorated urgently need attention, especially the limestone on the front of the building. The committee is hoping to have the contractor working on the building yet this summer. The goal of the "Alumni and Friends Challenge" is to ask supporters to consider donating to the effort...or as Julie said, "This is an opportunity...to pay it forward and help the Auditorium remain the center of a vibrant community for generations to come." She hopes alumni and others feel the same way and donate to help the community reach the fundraising goal.
Anyone having questions about the project are welcome to contact Beverly Beavers, John Sullivan, Deb Ostdiek, Sonia Schmidt or Steve Fox. Rental requests should be directed to the same individuals. Donations are tax deductible and may be sent to "The Auditorium, P.O. Box 96, Superior, Nebraska 68978." The Auditorium is owned and operated by a 501 (C)3 nonprofit corporation.
During the upcoming Vestey Festival, the Auditorium will be a busy place. Saturday, May 27, the popular vendors gathering called "The Market" will be open from 9 to 3 with a variety of vendors inside and outside the building. Lunch and fresh squeezed lemonade will available for a donation and there will also be limited space to sit, relax and eat. If you're looking for something to do later in the day, plan to meet your friends for a pulled pork meal from 5:30 to 7:30. A DJ will provide entertainment from 7:30 to 11:30 with a bar available.
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