Leeds is ready to take center stage

Published 11:41 am Friday, April 14, 2017

Some messages may sound like the proverbial broken record but that is because some messages need to be repeated over and over again.

This is the case when it comes to the importance of Leeds Center for the Arts and the efforts to inject life into downtown Winchester and the entire community.

For the last four months, volunteers have been working to repair plaster, renovate bathrooms, paint, install new carpet and make a host of other repairs to the 91-year-old theater.

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Leeds Center for the Arts returns to life Friday evening and kicks off a full weekend at the downtown landmark.

The public can get its first look at the newly-renovated theater at the public unveiling at 7 p.m. tonight. Then cellist Ben Sollee will take the stage Saturday.

The renovation has truly been the definition of a community project with collaboration by public entities, private companies and citizens who have volunteered their time to make a difference.

These partnerships have allowed this project to be completed much more quickly and much more inexpensively — saving tens of thousands of dollars — than it would have otherwise.

This weekend will be a great start to a new chapter in the history of the building has been integral to Winchester.

It is exciting to see the people from all walks of life in the community come together to make this downtown gem shine once again.