Great Barrington – With the deadline to raise $100,000 for the restoration of the historic Clinton Church fast approaching, organizers of Clinton Church Restoration Project (CCR) could not have been more pleased with the benefit screening on Friday of the Oscar-nominated James Baldwin documentary, “I Am Not Your Negro” at the Triplex Cinema. There was such a demand for tickets that, in effect, the screening sold out twice, thanks to the intervention of Triplex owner Richard Stanley.
The special showing at the Triplex was an important fundraiser for the nonprofit working to purchase, restore and repurpose the former Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church. After selling out its 100-seat upstairs theatre the day before the event, Stanley and Triplex manager Lisa Rizzo moved the screening to a downstairs theatre that held 170. Within a matter of hours after being made available, those tickets were sold out as well.
The film will be at the Triplex for the next two weeks, and CCR donation envelopes will be given to filmgoers during its run. Information about the project will be available in the Triplex lobby.
The nonprofit’s goal is to raise $100,000 by March 31 in order to purchase the building and cover initial operating costs.
“We are in the home stretch,” CCR board member Dennis Powell told the audience at the film’s first screening. “With this event, the project now has more than 400 individual donors.” Powell is also president of the Berkshire County chapter of the NAACP.
A reception courtesy of the Triplex, Rubiner’s, Fuel, the Berkshire Co-op Market and Guido’s Fresh Marketplace was held following the screening on the theater’s mezzanine. Between ticket sales and additional donations, the benefit raised more than $2,200.
“The viewing and reception provided by the Triplex, Rubiner’s Fuel, the Co-op and Guido’s represents community at its best,” Powell reflected later. “The Clinton Church Restoration Project is really a community project. Community is the seed needed to grow the vision that will restore the life of this historical landmark that embraces Great Barrington’s rich African-American legendary history and heritage.”
Donations to the Clinton Church Restoration fund can be made online, or by check made payable to Housatonic Heritage, with Clinton Church Restoration in the memo line, and mailed to P.O. Box 611, Great Barrington MA 01230. To donate online, visit www.GBClintonChurch.org.
