Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
One of Andrea Culy’s long-term goals in Sweet Home became reality last Saturday night when a group of area residents opened a new community performing arts center.
Culy’s son’s metal band, Asylum, played to a group of 30 to 40 to kick things off, but the idea is about much more than live bands.
“What this is is opening night of what we’re hoping will become a community arts venue for performing arts,” Culy said. “So we wanted to open it with a bang. This band has been playing at the Frontier.”
But the band members’ friends and the under-21 crowd haven’t been able to watch in that establishment, which includes a bar.
That problem is one of the reasons Culy and friends began talking about the fact that Sweet Home “doesn’t have somewhere for the youth to play music or perform except churches and bars,” Culy said. “We started talking about the fact we’d like to provide a place that’s non-alcohol, non-church, non-party.”
She said she mentioned non-church because many local kids play music that’s inappropriate for church. It’s not particularly offensive, but it’s secular.
“Tonight is mostly ’80s metal,” she said.
The chance to open it came when Culy and Zendi Silvermoon met at the local community garden meetings held at Sweet Home United Methodist Church. They started talking about the idea, and Silvermoon said she was moving her metaphysical business, called “Heritage,” to a new location.
“I said, ‘I’m moving down there, so this place is going to be open,” Silvermoon said.
And it’s open to almost any kind of thing, from drum circles, to open mic, Dungeons and Dragons games, poetry reading, dancing, performing arts in general.
Heritage Northwest Real Estate manages the property, at 1206 Main St., and gave permission for the performing arts center to operate there. Silvermoon is continuing to pay the rent for the building.
The building is a little small, Culy said, and the group will continue looking for a larger venue.
In the meantime, volunteers will start keeping the building open during the week, offering the opportunity for a variety of activities, she said.
It also is open to anyone who wants to offer workshops of any kind, Tai Chi to gardening and drumming, Silvermoon said. Free workshops can use the place at no charge.
Silvermoon’s son, Draco Zontu, was busy working the door Saturday night.
“I really like what’s going on,” he said. “I got involved in this because I’m interested in the community.”
And it helps give youth something to do, he said. Sweet Home doesn’t have a lot of activities for youth.
“I would like to see Sweet Home money stay in Sweet Home,” he said. He would like to see enough support from the community to expand the idea and provide even more for the community.
They didn’t have confirmation, but they were working on a band to play again next Saturday.
For information, call Silvermoon at 401-0347 or Culy at 401-7070.
Asylum includes Jobe Woosley, Jeff Falconer and Randy Nicholson.