The Friends of the Dawn Theater plans events to support to theater. Courtesy | Facebook

The Dawn Theater will host a St. Patrick’s Day bash March 16. 

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for full-bar service, according to Mary Wolfram, one of the event coordinators. Tickets to the concert include the after party from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. There will also be green beer, according to the event’s flier.

The Founding, a progressive folk band from Kalamazoo, will perform at 7:30 p.m. 

The Friends of the Dawn Theater, a nonprofit created to aid in the restoration of the Dawn Theater, is hosting the event as an opportunity to raise funds needed to support the theater. 

“The funds of this event will be used to raise money to restore a pipe organ that was built for the Dawn Theater in the 1900s,” said Gianna Green, general manager of the Dawn Theater.

The event has much support. 

“This engagement is supported by the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from Hillsdale Renaissance, Woman’s Life Insurance Society Chapter 741, CL Real Estate Development and Hillsdale Brewing Company,” Wolfram said. 

According to the GIG Fund’s website, it “is a grant of up to $4,000 that supports Midwestern organizations that want to contract with a professional artist to offer activities to their community.”

Wolfram said the grant, as well as Hillsdale Renaissance, a company owned by Luke Robson ’17, are key supporters of the event.

The Dawn Theater received the grant for bringing in The Founding to perform. Wolfram said she pitched the idea to bring in the band.

“Members of The Founding are all classically trained musicians in violin/fiddle, guitar, viola, cello, bass, mandolin or flute who met while they were students at Western Michigan University,” Wolfram said. 

Green said they want to host more events.

“We want to make the Dawn Theater the home of performing music arts,” Green said.