Audience members and actors in the Aug. 18-20 BRTF performances of The Drowsy Chaperone were treated to a new renovation at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall — air conditioning.
Photo by Jill Lobdell
WHALLONSBURG | The ice water stayed cool a lot longer than it would have last year.
As local youth performed The Drowsy Chaperone as part of the Boquet River Theatre Festival’s (BRTF) senior production at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall the weekend of Aug. 18-20, the Grange itself unveiled it’s latest addition — a pair of air conditioning systems.
“It was a great weekend, a everyone loved the new air conditioning in the Grange,” BRTF President Ed Mason said.
“It was great working with BRTF with cooperative fundraising on the project,” said Kate Ritter, Grange manager. “The Essex Community Fund was a big source of help for us on this project, as they have been on many other projects in the past.”
Ritter said the system, which was installed by Alan Gardner, will serve a number of purposes inside the Grange.
“It will definitely improve the comfort level for shows and the rentals we bring in,” Ritter said. “The system also improves the climate, which will help us preserve the building. It will also improve efficiency because the system will produce heat in the shoulder seasons.”
The Grange leadership started looking for ways to install an air conditioning system last year, applying to the Essex Community Fund and looking at ways to make the project fit within the historic building.
