Pictured is the Dietrich’s Community Rain Garden.
                                 Submitted photo

Pictured is the Dietrich’s Community Rain Garden.

Submitted photo

<p>Margie Young</p>

Margie Young

“It should be a fancy cupcake for a festive evening — colorful and tasty,” suggests our Dietrich Theater President of the Board of Directors, Sandy Vieczorek. I put in my 2 cents and said that maybe it should have a touch of strawberry and cream to continue our tradition of serving strawberry shortcake.

Everyone has an opinion about our 20th Anniversary cupcake, but you will have your choice when you attend our opening night Summer Fest celebration. It will be so wonderful to be together on Friday, July 16. All you need to do is reserve your seats by calling 570-836-1022 ext. 3. Advance tickets are $25. At the door tickets are $30. I know I will be there with my granddaughter and her fiancé who will be visiting and my son and family. Pick up your brochure at the theater.

If you have been to one of our opening nights, you know that the evening includes two films, with dessert served between films. When you arrive, we serve light snacks, then the first movie begins around 7 p.m. The two films featured on Opening Night are “Dream Horse” and “Queen Bees.” Both look to be perfect for Opening Night!

“Dream Horse,” starring Toni Collette and Damien Lewis, tells the story of an unlikely racehorse, raised by a small town bartender with very little money and no experience. With support from her neighbors, the horse named Dream Alliance is a beacon of hope for their struggling community.

“Queen Bees,” starring Ellen Burstyn as Helen, who temporarily moves to a retirement community, encountering lusty widows, cutthroat bridge tournaments, and meanness and bullying. At the same time she makes new friends and even finds it is not to late to find a new love. This fun tale also stars James Caan and Ann-Margret, completing a star-studded cast.

Opening Night will be one chance to celebrate the Dietrich Theater’s 20th Anniversary.

As I pulled into the back parking lot this morning, I made a mental list of all of the additions to the landscape at the Dietrich that were not here 20 years ago. I parked next to the Community Rain Garden and looked over the picket fence to see the gorgeous yellow lilies and witch hazel and other plants and bushes that have replaced a space that was an eyesore and a flooding problem. Now the rain from the theater roof is directed to water the rain garden, a thing of beauty.

I also walked passed the magnificent mural of the Tunkhannock Viaduct or Nicholson Bridge, the iconic scene that so often represents Wyoming County. Twenty years ago that wall space did not exist. I walked past the pond water feature, a calming place to sit, a space that was a gas station, long abandoned. I walked past the Sheldon Art Studio that was a small business 20 years ago. And there are so many more spaces that show the accomplishments of the last 20 years.

What gives us so much satisfaction are all the events and classes that have kept expanding in the last 20 years. We even have classes for the littlest ones. This year for the first time, Terra McAuliffe, is offering a program at Riverside Park called Families in Nature, a free program, sponsored by the Overlook Estate Foundation. Children, ages 3 to 8, are invited with their caregivers to come to Riverside Park in Tunkhannock Tuesdays and Wednesdays, July 13 through Aug. 4 at 10:30 a.m. for lots of activities to explore the beautiful natural environment of the park. It will be hands-on learning, planned to appeal to all of the levels of ability. Call the number above to register. Space is limited. A beautiful way to enjoy the outdoors with your children!

How will you help us celebrate the accomplishments of the last 20 years? Will it be coming to our Opening Night on July 16? Will it be signing up for a class for you or your children? Will it be attending River Day at Riverside Park on July 24? Will it be coming to see one of our film festival films or one of our blockbuster movies with matinees all summer? Thank you for all of your support these last 20 years. We could not have done it without you.