WARREN Funding means shows will go on at amphitheater

Programming begins June 9.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A deal between Trumbull 100 and the Fine Arts Council of Trumbull County has allowed programming at Warren Community Amphitheater through the summer.
Mayor Michael J. O'Brien announced the plan at a city council meeting Wednesday that calls for performances beginning June 9 and continuing through September.
Trumbull 100, a community group aimed at enhancing the city, has guaranteed about $50,000, becoming the financial underwriter to allow FACT to offer three performing arts series at the amphitheater this summer.
Bobbie Brown, FACT director, said Trumbull 100 also is working with FACT to find other sponsors.
"I hope when people are thinking to themselves, 'Gee, what am I going to do tonight?' that they think of Warren," Brown said.
The programs
The first program, "Tune It UP!," formerly presented as a five-week series downtown, has been expanded to a 12-week series at the new venue.
People younger than 25 are the target audience, featuring younger musical artists who may not often get a chance to perform at public events. The shows run from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, June 9 through Aug. 25.
TaDoo is a new project designed by FACT to coordinate community organizations and local performers interested in performing at the Amphitheater.
Performances may range from music to theater. Brown said that the application and permit process to perform in the city can be overwhelming. Through TaDoo, FACT will deal with those aspects, she said.
Brown noted that FACT's annual programming of Noon in the Park and Chalk on the Walk will continue.
The 15-week series runs from 7 to 9 p.m. June 10 through Sept. 16.
The third program, called Saturday Night Specials, offers about six events Saturday evenings. Acts will be performing artists that have more technical needs. One act that's likely to be featured is a touring dance company from New Zealand.
The plan aims at city revitalization.
"When Trumbull 100 commissioned the Cranston Report nearly eight years ago, it focused on revitalizing Warren and Trumbull County through the arts," Trumbull 100 President David Hamilton said in a news release. "The Riverwalk and Warren Community Amphitheater are certainly large components in that plan."
River view
Another plan to highlight the Amphitheater which the mayor said is in the preliminary stage is creation of a patio at the log cabin that overlooks the Mahoning River for people to eat dinner. O'Brien said the project would be a collaboration between the city and Trumbull 100, but details haven't been ironed out.
He also said the pact between FACT and Trumbull 100 doesn't eliminate the need for a steering committee, established last year to develop a plan for how to use the Amphitheater.
The committee is expected to determine other uses and the costs or fees.