Fred Tucker/Clarendon Citizen
County names Tucker as Weldon administrator
The dream of having a full-fledged cultural arts venue that can seat almost 1,100 audience members moved another step closer with the hiring of Sandi Tucker as events administrator.
The Denver-native has made her home in Clarendon County since 1997. She joined the Get Weldon Going Committee in 2007 and has served as secretary of the organization ever since.
She came on board as a county employee on March 16 and is temporarily housed at the Recreation Dept. off Raccoon Road.
“We hope to be able to relocate into permanent offices later this summer,” Tucker said.
The magic number is 1,000 seats, as many types of acts will not book into smaller venues, Tucker explained.
“I see Weldon as primarily bringing opportunities and education to both children and adults,” she said. “There are so many facets of culture that they may not have ever been exposed to.”
Tucker said the realm of uses of the auditorium is nearly limitless.
“I want to introduce anything we can think of to spark the imagination, provide new business opportunities and create a reason for our citizens to stay right here in Clarendon County for their entertainment options.”
Tucker said she views the Newberry Opera House as a model upon which to build the Weldon Auditorium and the Clarendon Community Complex.
“We also want to make Manning and Clarendon County a destination, not just a pass through to the beach. The Newberry Opera House completely changed downtown Newberry. I hope Weldon can do the same for Manning and the county.”
Tucker is planning on twice a month Saturday movie days for kids and once a month family movie nights, hopefully to begin in December. Every other month will see a classic movie night at the stately theater facility.
Tucker has already booked professional acts for four performances.
The Columbia City Ballet Company will present “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” on Dec. 14 for all the children of the county.
Later that same evening, the CCBC will present “The Nutcracker,” which will feature some local talent. Auditions for local dancers will be held after Labor Day.
On Jan. 28, 2011, the Hoppers Gospel Group will perform. The Hoppers are an award-winning quartet from North Carolina that have been in various configurations since their debut in 1957.
The Triumphant Quartet gospel group will also be on stage in Manning on March 18, 2011.
The possibilities of acts for Weldon are broad, Tucker noted.
“In addition to musical groups, I hope to bring tribute acts, mentalists, magicians, classical and folk music,” she said. “I am really hoping that the Back Porch Players will re-organize for some local theater. Weldon is an ideal venue for that. We want to also work with local churches, choirs and youth groups for programs like cantatas and pageants.”
Tucker is working closely with all three public schools and both private schools to provide a place for their theater troupes, bands, beauty pageants and most especially graduations. One of the things they have been discussing is bringing county-wide competitions like spelling and history bees to Weldon, inspiring a fun way to learn as well as a natural tie in with the state-level bees.
“Our plan is for every program that comes to Weldon to bring an educational and community outreach component with them as a complement to their performance,” she said.
Tucker is open to any and all suggestions for programming for the Weldon Auditorium. You can share those with her by calling 473-3580 or email her at weldonauditorium@gmail.com.
