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The Milbridge Theatre and Community Arts Center- Project Fact Sheet
A Regional Community Development Effort by Gateway Milbridge

What is Gateway Milbridge?

Gateway Milbridge is a non-profit 501c3 designated organization formed to assist with a downtown revitalization effort for Milbridge through a variety of community focused projects including an emphasis on rebuilding and reopening the Milbridge Theatre as a full-service Theatre and Community Arts Center.

What was the “Bring Back the Milbridge Theatre” project?   

As one of our projects, Gateway Milbridge organized an effort to rebuild and reopen the Milbridge Theatre as a modern full-service theatre and community arts center serving Milbridge and the surrounding communities. The new, combined theatre and community arts center opened in August 2023 and offers a flexible venue and community gathering space for film and expanded options/events including educational programming, live music, lectures, and stage performances.

Why is the Milbridge Theatre so important to Milbridge?

The theatre has been a community icon since it was built in 1937.  Area residents relied on the theatre for entertainment and gathering because such opportunities here are few and often a great distance away.  It was one of the few facilities Milbridge had for creating a strong sense of community and belonging for our residents of all ages. Generations of our region's youth spent countless weekends of their lives at this theatre engaging in much-needed social and cultural experiences. The theatre's closure left an economic void in the center of our downtown.

Small towns and regions like ours face many difficult headwinds these days, and redevelopment projects, such as bringing back the Milbridge Theatre, are critical to the region's economy and our residents' quality of life. The new theatre and community arts center not only provides our region with a venue for film, community gathering space, educational programming, and live performances, but it is creating jobs, engaging volunteers/students, attracting visitors to the area, spurring economic activity, and filling a critical commercial anchor in the center of our town.

Why was much of the theatre torn down – couldn’t we restore the existing building?

Professional architects and engineers worked on options for renovation and reconstruction.  The building had deteriorated significantly, and the most practical approach was to remove the structurally unsound sections and rebuild it. We restored as many historic and sentimental items of the original theatre as possible, such as the auditorium entry doors, marquee sign, and vast amounts of memorabilia.  The new building includes a street-front appearance replicating the historic appearance of the existing building, while providing handicap accessibility, new bathrooms, a larger stage, year-round heating, and air conditioning.

Is there a plan for the new theatre’s long term operation – how will it succeed?

Yes. We were awarded a grant from the Maine Community Foundation funding a feasibility study and long term business plan for the sustainability, design, programming, and operation of the theatre. Extensive interviews and financial reviews with other regional theatres show the project is viable and sustainable. The plan has been completed by a Portland group which focuses on business plans for non-profit organizations.

How much will it cost to build a new theatre and how long will it take?

This was a large undertaking and trying to do it all at once would have been very difficult. That's why we broke it down into more easily achievable phases while still keeping the overall project in mind. Each phase was designed to provide immediate, tangible benefits:  acquiring the land and building, preserving historic items, removing the dilapidated building, creating a park-like green space for everyone to enjoy, and opening a new theatre and community arts center.  Each of these is a positive step forward with a solid accomplishment we can be proud of, and each was fully funded and completed before we moved deeply into the next phase.  

• Phases 1 and 2 (Jan-December 2016) - Raise the initial funds necessary to purchase the existing theatre building and land and cover the cost of insurance, taxes and legal work. Complete development of a professional long term business plan, initiate building design options and continue fundraising.  
  Estimated Cost- $72,000  COMPLETED

• Phase 3 (January-December 2017) - Remove the structurally unsound portions of the building, retain the Marquee Shoppe portion of the structure, store historic items for preservation, stabilize the site by creating a simple, park-like green space, refurbish/reopen the Marquee Shoppe as a mini-museum of the theatre's history, and build an outdoor stage that can be used and enjoyed immediately by the community for outdoor movies and outdoor entertainment while we continue raising money for the new building.  
  Estimated Cost- $29,000   COMPLETED

• Phases 4-7  Capital Campaign and Construction (2018-2023) - Plan and construct a new facility that can be enhanced and expanded over time.  Includes rebuilding and equipping the structure in a basic manner for use as a year-round, fully climate-controlled, Theatre and Community Arts Center for a wide range of artistic, educational, and entertainment programming.  
  Estimated Cost- $690,000 COMPLETED
  
  
• Phase 8 Facility Enhancement (2023-2024)-  Enhance the new building with advanced stage lighting, updated sound equipment, acoustic tiles, and updated digital projection systems.  
  Estimated Cost- $155,000

How will this project be paid for- will it draw on local tax dollars?

Funding has come from a variety of sources, including private donations, business donations, foundation grants, public grants for community development, and significant volunteer efforts.  No funding is being sought or provided from the town government or local tax dollars.

What has been accomplished so far?   

• May 2015- A 14 member Board was created with membership from across our community.

• August 2015- An initial fundraising effort was started with a GoFundMe page.

 

• September 2015- A strong and active Facebook public page was created for the project; Over 20 volunteers participated in a clean-up day to make the existing theatre grounds more attractive.  

• December 2015- A comprehensive community survey about the theatre and its future was made available to area residents and resulted in a very strong response rate from the community.   

• December 2015- Preliminary drawings were completed for ideas of how the new theatre and community arts center might look.

• January 2015- A comprehensive public website was created at MilbridgeTheatre.org to share information about the theater and other group projects.

• March 2016- Brochures and posters about the project were printed and distributed.

• April/May 2016- The initial funding effort through GoFundMe.com evolved into a larger fund raising effort through our dedicated website at MilbridgeTheatre.org

• May 2016- Members from Gateway Milbridge attended the Milbridge Selectmen's meeting to provide a detailed overview of the theatre project and planning.

• May 2016- Gateway Milbridge was awarded a $10,000 grant by the Maine Community Foundation to fund the completion of a long term business plan for the theatre project to prepare us for sustainable and successful design and programming of the theatre that fits the needs and capacity of our region.

• June 2016- Gateway Milbridge purchased and installed 20 permanent flower planters along Main Street in Milbridge. The planters are updated seasonally and are extremely popular.

• July 2016- We had our first participation in Milbridge Days with a successful fundraising event in front of the theatre where we distributed information, answered questions, and sold tee-shirts.

• August 2016- We hosted another very large and successful fundraiser that included an auction of local artwork and a show with Maine humorist, Tim Sample, netting over $12,000 toward the project.  

• September 2016- Purchase plans of the theatre building and land are announced.

• October 2016- We began the removal of sentimental and historic items from the theatre to store for preservation and reuse in the new theatre and community arts center.

• November 2016- Year-end fundraising campaign was initiated and a matching grant of $5,000 was offered (and achieved) by an anonymous donor through the Maine Community Foundation.

• December 2016- Gateway Milbridge and the Milbridge Theatre board members held the first annual Christmas on Main Street Celebration and Community Christmas tree lighting to build community spirit.

• February 2017- Plans were introduced and approved to remove the structurally unsound portions of the existing building while preserving/restoring/reopening the "Marquee Shoppe" section of the building.

• March 2017- Our Facebook page surpassed 1,000 followers and Gateway Milbridge took a leading role in the planning of Milbridge Days 2017 including making arrangements to bring in one of New England's best exotic animal petting zoos via private donations earmarked for this purpose.

• April 2017- Volunteers completed the tasks of removing, preserving, and storing sentimental and historic items from the theatre for use in the new building.

• April 2017- Plans were announced and approved for the new outdoor stage and green space on the back section of the land.

• May 2017- Payment was completed for the theatre building and land.

• June 2017- Work was begun to renovate the Marquee Shoppe section of the theatre.

• June 2017- Removal was initiated and completed for the deteriorated and structurally unsound sections of the theatre building. The lot was cleared except for the Marquee Shoppe section of the building.

• July 2017- Work was begun and completed for the new outdoor stage to provide us with an interim location to begin immediately hosting live entertainment at the theatre lot.  

• July 2017- Milbridge Days bought the opening of the theatre's new outdoor stage and record setting attendance for the town celebration.  The exotic animal petting zoo was a phenomenal success and live music performances took place on the outdoor stage.

• August 2017- The Marquee Shoppe is reopened as a mini-museum of theatre history and memorabilia.  An open house is hosted on August 22.  An expansion of the Marquee Shoppe was initiated to include two public restrooms and additional facilities for live music and movie performances.

• August 2017- Gateway Milbridge began, "Live Music Friday Nights", a successful four part series of live music performances hosted on the new outdoor stage.

• September 2017- Plans were begun to create a full series of weekly Friday Night Performances to be held June through September in 2018.

• September 2017- A formal capital campaign effort was initiated to provide the funding for the construction of the new theatre and community arts center.

• September 2017- Through a single, targeted donation, professional outdoor/indoor movie equipment is purchased including a projection system, sound system, and a 12 foot screen allowing us to begin hosting outdoor movies for the community.  Hotel Transylvania was the first film shown at the Milbridge Theatre lot since the closing of the theatre in December 2014.

• February 2018- A full summer schedule of Friday Night Live events was announced for the theatre's new outdoor stage.  Live performances and films were scheduled every Friday night from June through September.

• January to May 2018- Thanks to match challenges from Machias Savings Bank and Wyman's of Maine, fundraising topped $200,000.

• June 2018-  The Friday Night Live Event Series kicked off with great success as over 320 attend a family friendly performance of "Everybody Loves Pirates" by the Frogtown Puppeteers.

• July 2018- Gateway Milbridge hosted another very successful and sold-out Live Game Show Night fundraiser with 340 in attendance and over $14,000 in donated prizes given away to "contestants" through the night.  It was a great event for the community and a strong fundraiser for Gateway.

• July 2018- Gateway Milbridge took a lead role in helping to organize a record-setting Milbridge Days Celebration.  Targeted donations from private donors through Gateway help bring live music to the celebration, toy for the kids on the parade route, a large petting zoo, bagpipe group, and fireworks as part of the weekend's festivities.

• September 2018-  The outdoor stage concludes its second season of operation with tremendous success

• December 2018- Gateway Milbridge took a leading role in helping to plan and host another successful Christmas on Main Street event for Milbridge

• January 2019- Planning and event announcements began for the 2019 Friday Night Live performances at the outdoor stage.

• February 2019- The theatre's new building fund surpassed $230,000

• May 2019- Gateway Milbridge began its fourth summer of planting and maintaining the 20 beautiful commercial-sized planters along Main Street.

• June 2019- The outdoor stage launched its third season of operation with 10 Friday Night Live Performances including a record crowd of over 400 for the Flash in the Pans concert.

• July 2019- Gateway Milbridge took a lead role again in helping to organize another record-setting Milbridge Days. Targeted donations from private donors through Gateway helped bring live music to the celebration, toy for the kids on the parade route, a large petting zoo, and a bagpipe group to town.

• August 2019- Gateway Milbridge launched a very successful Lighthouse Art Project for downtown Milbridge, involving artists from across the area, drawing regional media and numerous visitors to town to see the painted lighthouses, and culminating in a large, public reception for the artists.

• September 2019- The outdoor stage concluded its third season of operation with tremendous success.

• October 2019- Gateway received a $50,000 match challenge from an anonymous donor - our largest single donation to date. The challenge was accomplished in full, taking our fundraising to nearly $500,000 in total with $360,000 in the new building fund.

• November 2019- In anticipation of breaking ground for the new building in 2020, the outdoor stage is moved to a beautiful waterfront location at the town marina, and the Marquee Shoppe is moved to a nearby farm.

• December 2019- Gateway Milbridge took a leading role again in helping to plan and host another successful Christmas on Main Street event for Milbridge.

• January 2020- Planning and event announcements began for the 2020 Friday Night Live performances at the outdoor stage.   Performances were suspended due to COVID-19

• May 2020- Gateway Milbridge began its fifth summer of planting and maintaining the 20 beautiful commercial-sized planters along Main Street.

• May/June 2020- Revised architectural drawings for the proposed new Theatre and Community Arts Center are completed.

• July/August 2020-  Gateway Milbridge launched a very successful Maine Bicentennial Art Project for downtown Milbridge, involving artists from across the area, drawing regional media and numerous visitors to town to see the art display over 3 weekends, and culminating in a large online auction of the pieces.

• November 2020-  Architect drawings for the new theatre and community arts center are completed and approved by the Maine State Fire Marshal's office.

• January 2021- Kevin Barbee (Barbee Construction) becomes the general contractor for the building project.

• January 2020- Planning and event announcements began for the 2021 Friday Night Live performances at the outdoor stage.  

• February 2021- The Town of Milbridge Planning Board gives unanimous approval for the construction plans of the new theatre and community arts center.

• March-July 2021- Gateway Milbridge took a lead role again in helping to organize another record-setting Milbridge Days. Targeted donations from private donors through Gateway helped to once again bring live music to the celebration, fireworks, toy for the kids on the parade route, a large petting zoo, and a bagpipe group to town.

• April 2021- Ground is broken for the new theatre and community arts center. Regional media provides extensive coverage of the event.

• May 2021- Gateway Milbridge began its sixth summer of planting and maintaining the 20 beautiful commercial-sized planters along Main Street.

• July 2021- Gateway hosts 8 summer concerts at our outdoor stage’s new waterfront location at the Milbridge Town Marina.

• October 2021- The exterior of the new theatre and community arts center is completed. Work on the interior begin and continues as fundraising permits for heating/air, electric, bathrooms, stage construction, lighting, sound, film equipment and concessions.

• December 2021- Gateway Milbridge hosts a very successful first annual Christmas at the Marina with caroling, Santa arriving by lobster boat, and gifts for the community’s children.

• January 2022- Planning and event announcements began for the 2022 Friday Night Live performances at the outdoor stage.  

• February 2022- Seating is ordered for the new building’s auditorium.

• March-July 2022- Gateway Milbridge took a lead role again in helping to organize another record-setting Milbridge Days. Targeted donations from private donors through Gateway helped to once again bring live music to the celebration, fireworks, toy for the kids on the parade route, a large petting zoo, and a bagpipe group to town.

• April 2022- Sheetrock installation of walls and ceilings is completed in the new building.

• May 2022- Gateway Milbridge began its seventh summer of planting and maintaining the 20 beautiful commercial-sized planters along Main Street.

• July 2022- Gateway hosts fifth Friday Night Live concert season with 8 concerts, 2 open-mic nights, and a special children’s evening at our outdoor stage’s waterfront location.

• August 2022- Electrical work and all interior lighting are completed in the new building.

• September 2022- The new building’s advanced HVAC system is installed, auditorium seating is installed, flooring is installed throughout the facility, concessions area display cases are ordered.

• October 2022-  Gateway hosts our first annual Community Halloween Celebration outside the new theatre and community arts center facility- with over 25 entries for our pumpkin carving contest and more than 300 kids coming for trick or treat!

• November 2022- Gateway Milbridge’s successful work in the community is featured in a wonderful two-page article in Downeast Magazine.

• December 2022- Gateway again takes a leading role in helping to plan and host another successful Christmas on Main Street event for Milbridge, our second annual Christmas at the Marina celebration, and our first time sponsoring, “Breakfast with Santa” for children from across the area.

• January 2023- Planning and event announcements began for the 2023 Friday Night Live performances at our outdoor stage.

• February 2023-  Gateway begins planning for a summer opening of the new Milbridge Theatre and Community Arts Center in conjunction with a movie-themed art show featuring local artists and plans for multiple open-house nights at the new facility.

• July 2023- Gateway hosts our sixth Friday Night Live concert season with 8 concerts, 2 open-mic nights, and a special children’s evening at our outdoor stage’s waterfront location.

• August 2023-  Gateway hosts the grand opening of the new Milbridge Theatre & Community Arts Center with a large reception, community art show, and performance by Tim Sample.

• September 2023-  Gateway begins fundraising for the purchase of a digital projection system and theater screen for the new facility.

• October 2023-  Gateway hosts our second annual Community Halloween Celebration inside the new theatre and community arts center facility- more than 300 kids coming for trick or treat!

• November 2023-  David Plath is hired to be the Executive Director for the new Milbridge Theatre & Community Arts Center (MTCAC).

• November 2023-  Programming for MTCAC begins on a regular schedule.

How can I learn more?

Complete information about the Milbridge Theatre project and how to contact us is available online at MilbridgeTheatre.org.  Area residents sit on the Board of Directors, and are always willing to talk about this beloved project as well as our other projects for revitalizing downtown Milbridge.  

How can I help?

Your support is critical to this project.  Please help us by spreading the word about our efforts. Sign up on our website for updates, and "like" us on our Facebook page.  Contact us with your ideas, comments, and questions at any time.  Attend a fundraising event.  Join us as a volunteer.  Donate online or in person.

How can people or businesses make a donation?

Gateway Milbridge is a 501c3 designated nonprofit organization.  Donations are tax-deductible and receipts are given for donations.

You can make a tax-deductible donation on our website by credit card or you may donate by check.

Check donations may be made payable and sent to:  

Gateway Milbridge, PO Box 62, Milbridge, ME  04658

Project Fact Sheet