Belfast’s iconic Colonial Theatre is scheduled to reopen in November under the stewardship of a new nonprofit.
Hawthorne Theatre & Arts Collaborative, named for Hawthorne the elephant that stands on the roof of the art deco theater, will take ownership of the theater this month and is planning to reopen the historic venue on November 4.
After operating for more than 100 years, the Colonial closed in September 2022 when owners Mike Hurley and Therese Bagnardi retired. At the time, it was one of the few remaining small commercial movie houses in the state.
Similar venues in the midcoast, including the Strand in Rockland, the Grand in Ellsworth and the Alamo in Bucksport are run as nonprofits.
The Colonial had been for sale since 2015. Earlier this year, a group called Save Our Colonial Theatre formed to reopen the theater.
Kyle Walton, executive director of the Hawthorne Collaborative said Monday that that Save Our Colonial had started investigating options for the theatre but the arrival of benefactors willing to fund the purchase of the theater made much of that work unnecessary. The Hawthorne board of directors includes three members of the Save Our Colonial Theatre steering committee, Walton said.
Bill and Libby Catania, of Northport, are buying the theater and placing it under the control of the nonprofit, Walton said. The Catanias own and operate Limina Renewal Center, a spiritual retreat in Searsport. The Republican Journal reported that the sale is expected to be finalized sometime this week.
In a page on the Colonial’s website, the Hawthorne Collaborative says the reopened theater will have new and old movies, live music, readings, stand-up, classes and party rentals — “everything you used to get from the Colonial, with the addition of so much more.”
For the month of October, the Hawthorne Collaborative is matching donations with funding from an anonymous donor who put up $50,000 for the challenge.
Filmmaker Anne Continelli is making a documentary about the saving of the Colonial Theatre. Continelli directed Citizen Coolidge, which documents the successful campaign to save the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts.