Show raises $6,045 for theater

The first of many fundraisers to support The New Ritz Theatre proved successful last Saturday when community members joined together to celebrate a night of talent and help raise $6,045. The “Puttin’ on the Ritz” fundraiser consisted of a talent show, silent auction and concession stand, with less of half of the funds raised coming from the silent auction.

The donated money is put into the Ritzville Downtown Development Association’s (RDDA) theater fund to help upgrade the existing camera equipment at the local movie theater to a new, digital system.

The Ralston Grange hosted the first fundraising effort and an estimated 130 community members attended the event to show support and donate to the local theater. Dale Anderson served as the master of ceremonies for the evening and shared memories of the theater during intermissions of the talent acts.

The roster for the evening was packed with 18 acts, consisting of a variety of different talents and ages of performers.

The talent portion of the evening began with a performance by students Wyatt Gordon, Nick Webb, Cooper Jessop, Josh Crouse and Dane Neace from Washtucna who danced an Irish jig.

Candidates from the Distinguished Young Women program shared their talents with the audience, and the performances included piano melodies, singing, dancing and an original monologue. The Ritzville Community Theatre duo of Miles Athey and Jean Richards performed a short skit entitled “A Chance Encounter.”

Other performances included cowboy poetry from local rancher Jake Harder, and Washtucna Community Church Pastor Dennis Evans sang while playing songs from the 1920s on the ukulele.

Jack and Sharon Anderson, Jennifer York, Jerry Snyder provided instrumental performances, while Katheran Gingrich performed a vocal solo.

The night concluded with a guitar and vocal number titled “By Your Side,” performed by Bridger Smith and Paul Ridgeway.

The amount of money announced at the end of the night raised by the silent auction alone was just over $2,200. The total amount included the live auction of a motorbike donated by Ritzville Lumber, which raised $275.

The RDDA plans to continue fundraising events to benefit the renovation and upgrades for The New Ritz Theatre.

Individuals interested in making monetary contributions to the fund are asked to make checks payable to the RDDA Theater Fund, and send the donations to PO Box 432, Ritzville, WA 99169.