Funds raised to improve Fandangle

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Fort Griffin Fandangle Association has raised about half the funds needed for major repairs at the Prairie Theater, as well as improving sets, costumes, and the calliope, through a capital improvement drive that started in December.

While in the midst of the annual membership drive, the organization is also seeking additional funds for major improvements that do not include money donated through regular memberships or the sale of tickets.

The price tag for the needed repairs was increased to roughly $600,000 as bids have come in for various aspects of the project, according board president Henry Musselman.

“Some of the repairs, like replacing some of the concrete sidewalks and retaining walls, as well as improving the concession stand and the control tower, need to be done prior to this year’s show,” he said. “The rest, including the terracing of the seating area and other major repairs, will have to wait until after the show in June.”

Musselman thinks that all projects will be completed by the end of 2022.

“We are still pursuing foundations for donations, and we have some good response so far, but we are only about halfway to the goal,” he said.

The Fandangle board will meet on Tuesday, March 8 to take a final look at the bids for the various portions of the project and make a final decision about what to complete prior to June and what will have to wait to later in the summer to start.

The meeting will be held at Musselman’s recently renovated Studebaker Building at 326 South Second, on the north side of the Courthouse Square.

Musselman said that in addition to requests going to foundations, local donations are being sought to help fund the project. For more information, contact Musselman or Jamie Parsons in the Fandangle office.

Memberships Needed

The annual call for memberships in the Fandangle Association, which helps fund the yearly production, has had good response, according to Parsons.

Memberships are available on seven different price levels, starting with a $25 Pioneer level for those 65 years of age or older. Other levels range up to the Platinum member for donations of $5,000 or more.

Membership letters were sent out in late January to current members, with membership forms that can be returned with payment. Memberships can also be purchased online at www.fortgriffin fandangle.org, or by calling the office at 325-762-3838.

Members will be able to attend the Fandangle Sampler scheduled to be held at Reynolds Bend on the historic Matthews Ranch for the first time in a quarter century. The sampler show is set for April 16.

Rehearsals to Start

Rehearsals will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8 at the Aztec Theater.

With only five weeks to prepare for the sampler, director Lorna Ayers is asking the cast to come to all rehearsals.

“Please don’t wait to come,” she said. “I need people to come starting with the first rehearsal so we can see who we have to include in the show.”

Typically, major singing roles are assigned early in the season for the sampler and the summer show.

The sampler hasn’t been performed at Rey­nolds Bend on the Lambs­head Ranch since the death Watt Matthews in 1997. Last year’s sampler was planned to be the first back at the ranch, but heavy rains caused it to be moved into town in back of the Jackson Warehouse.

The cast and crew will also be preparing for another prestigious performance at Frontier Texas! as part of Memorial Day weekend events on Saturday, May 28.

Ayers said that the same show presented at the Reynolds Bend sampler will be performed in Abilene.