Kennedy native Blake Berglund performed June 14 in Arcola to help raise funds for the MacMurray Theatre. Joined by his friend, business partner, and fellow musician J.R. Louis a fantastic show was put on.
This concert was what Berglund called a "one man gun slingin' show." He stands with his guitar interacting with the crowd by telling stories about how songs came to be.
"I tend to talk more than play the guitar when I get up here for these kinds of shows." Berglund joked on stage.
He was entertaining both comically and vocally, while displaying singing/song writing prowess. Drawing on life experiences and ideas that present themselves, Berglund has a fantastic songbook.
Louis opened the show in the same format. He told stories of his life that coincided with the meaning or influence associated with his songs. This included an anecdote about a bird that had attacked him on a sunny day in Lethbridge, AB., followed by a song that recounted the event and his dislike for the species.
Berglund and Louis drew a crowd of 140 people. "We were hoping for 100 and anything over that was a bonus, so we're very happy with the evening." Alan Burton, Optimist Club President, stated.
After expenditures the night raised $1,400 to put towards the theatre.
Currently they are very close to achieving their goal of $70,000 to install the digital projection system. The Optimists were forced to make a split second decision regarding what to spend the money on. Originally planning to put up a playpark structure, the movie world made a change, forcing the money to be redirected. If money was not raised this year to make upgrades the theatre would have had to shut down.
With the past years successful in drawing audiences in for movies, they decided that keeping the theatre open was a priority. Money raised from past snowmobile rallies was, therefore, diverted from the playpark structure and put towards the theatre.
After the Berglund CD Release concert, Burton spoke with the artist. They discussed the possibility of Berglund coming back to the area in January with a three-piece band.
The Optimist Club accepts donations and would like to encourage everyone to help achieve their goal for the theatre and beyond, as the playpark is still extremely important to them and the community.
