Harrington News

Harrington Opera House Society

The Society’s board meeting was held September 9 with 12 people present.

The meeting was preceded by several members of the community and many Society members working to clean the opera house for upcoming events.

Plaster work on the upper walls in the opera room which may be completed before the Harrington Fall Festival. The track system was not installed for the stage curtains. Future potential work projects include refinishing the new stairs, refinishing the stage floor, installing the kitchen cabinets in the Rummage Room, and refinishing the old stairs and wainscoating in the old stair entry.

Scheduled events were a wedding on September 13 and A Grand Interlude on September 14 to be followed with the Needhams performing on September 22. Tickets for the Tayla Lynn and Eric Tingstad performance October 10 will be available for sale as early as September 14. An opportunity for a Jazz Concert was discussed and a preference was shown for it to be a January event.

Beginning at 10 a.m. on September 13, the Harrington Studebaker Garage was the venue for an Honor Flight Benefit Car Show. A $10 donation to Honor Flight included a barbeque luncheon and voting on more than 52 vehicles that arrived carrying many of the guests to the wedding of Kitty Johnson-Woods and Dan Brown.

The 1 p.m. wedding was held in the Harrington Opera House, where an audience of more than 100 witnessed the vows and service. Attendants were Robert Brown, Glen Brown, Catherine Sullivan, Winter Woods, Alyssa Woods, Ginger Kopicky, Samantha Brown, Tylor Sullivan, Jacob Sullivan and Hugh Xavier Golden, children and grandchildren of the couple. The ceremony was officiated by Art Kopicky. Linda Wagner was pianist. Following the ceremony the reception and dance were held. The couple will make their home at Greenacres.

September 14, A Grand Interlude was held at the Opera House with Rebecca Hardy and Andres Jaramillo playing solos and duets until Intermission. Their numbers included Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, Ancestro, La Comparsa and Los munecos. Following a short intermission, Rebecca Hardy played Serenata del Espectro. Rebecca was joined on stage by her husband, Stephen Hardy, baritone, and the audience was treated to several numbers including The Lonesome Road and The Boatman’s Dance.

Four numbers were performed by Dr. Randel Wagner, baritone, and Andres Jaramillo at the piano: Gonna be Another Hot Day, Tanzlied des Pierrot, It Ain’t Necessarily So, and Without a Song. The concluding number was Shenandoah performed by Rebecca Hardy at the piano and Stephen Hardy and Randel Wagner singing. The audience insisted on an encore, to which the musicians readily responded. The Steinway Piano Gallery in Spokane brought a grand piano for this and previous Grand Interlude events. A silent auction brought an additional $150 in addition to the donations from the 107 persons in the audience.

Harrington City Council

Mayor Paul Gilliland called the September 10 city council meeting to order with councilmen Levi Schenk, Peter Davenport and Rick Becker in attendance, as well as Scott McGowan and Bunny Haugan and visitors Ashley Schenk, Marge Womach, Anita Simons, Crystal Hickman, Sharon Schultz, Terry and Dianne Sanchez.

Discussion was held on a potential street vacation, potential variances, and potential installation of water meters. Street repairs were discussed and a list had been developed for which repairs would be taking place. Yards that fail to comply with city requests to eliminate fire hazards were discussed and the need for abatement notices was noted. Further discussion was held on broken sidewalks, and the mayor informed the council that the city ordinances since the early years of incorporation have made the sidewalks the responsibility of the owner of the property.