Progress at the Granada Theatre, 807 Commercial St., continues, and work is on track to be completed by the theater’s Oct. 3 gala opening, according to Doug Ford, executive director of the Granada Theatre Alliance.
“We’re starting to install the carpet today, and we’re getting the sound system and the stage rigging put up,” Ford said on Monday. “We’re working to finish up the concession stand, and things are really coming together.”
The Granada opened in 1929 and has been undergoing renovations for several years. Work was originally scheduled to be finished at the first of this year, but delays have pushed the date back continuously. “Since it’s a historical building, anything we do has to be approved,” Ford said. “We can’t just do anything we want whenever we want to.”
“Everybody’s been working hard to get this done on time,” Ford said, adding that crews have been putting in quite a bit of overtime. “We’ve got guys working from six in the morning until four, and weekends too.”
Aside from the gala on Oct. 3, there are already events scheduled into the fall.
• The first event to be held there will be the Golden Dragon Acrobats at 7 p.m. Oct. 9. The group has toured in more than 65 countries, and its goal is to preserve a tradition of Chinese acrobats that began at least 2,500 years ago.
F On Oct. 10 the theater will feature Emporia native Kelley Hunt, with openers the Dewayn Brothers. Hunt is an acclaimed blues/jazz performer whose latest album, “Mercy,” was released in May. The Dewayn Brothers are a touring bluegrass band. The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at The Sweet Granada.
• On Oct. 11 Emporia Main Street will team up with the Farmers Market to host the Harvest Festival from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission for the event is free, and the feature will be a series of short films, according to Ford.
Also on the schedule for the Granada are some upcoming events for the Emporia Arts Council.
• On Nov. 5 the theater will feature Kansas City-area jazz saxophonist Doug Talley and his group, the Doug Talley Quartet. The show will begin at 7:30 p.m., and will have an appearance by the Emporia High School jazz band.
• The Jan. 18 performance of “Nunsense,” starring Sally Struthers, will take place either at the theater or at Albert Taylor Hall on the ESU campus. The show will begin at 3 p.m.
• On Jan. 30 the arts council will feature The Millers, a blues quartet that finished as runner-up on the NBC show “America’s Got Talent.” The band, from Lafayette, Ind., has performed with such stars as Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Joan Jett and Kanye West. The show begins at 8 p.m.
• On March 26, classical harpist Emmanuel Ceysson will perform at 7:30 p.m. at the theater. Ceysson, originally from France, is an acclaimed instrumentalist who has won a number of awards, including the 2004 USA International Harp competition.
“We’ve got some other events we’ve been working on, but nothing is solid yet,” Ford said.