By Andrew Edwards
Elmore/Autauga News
The Cultural Arts and Events team for the city of Prattville have found a way to weather a chaotic year and make the most out of a bad situation.
With COVID restrictions limiting crowd capacities and forcing events to be cancelled statewide, many organizations have either been forced to shut down entirely or close for extended periods of time.
The Cultural Arts and Events Center in Prattville hasn’t had to do either.
“We’ve been extremely fortunate to hold small scale events and gatherings over the past year,” said Barbara Simpson, Manager of Cultural Arts and Events for the City of Prattville. “We actually never even closed our art gallery, and even though we have to limit occupants, we’re still seeing a great deal of visitors.”
Despite the changes, Simpson says cultural arts and events for the city have never been more popular.
“It was tough at first because we like to do things a certain way here. We are abiding by COVID guidelines, so people shouldn’t be deterred when they see that we have an event going on. We’ve had several plays, paint days, and workshops throughout the last year that have gone smoothly and with great reception,” Simpson said.
Currently, Prattville’s Way off Broadway Theater is accepting auditions for their July play, “Murder on the Orient Express.” Simpson is excited about the prospect of having regular performances once again.
“We’ve had a couple of plays this year and they have been great. We can have 16-40 people in the theater at a time, but that depends on if you’re with your family or not. Sometimes we have up to 40, but at our last play we have 16 socially distanced singles,” Simpson laughed.
There’s also a great deal of artistic opportunities for the people of Prattville – one such that’s arriving soon.
“We’re going to have our Prattville Plein Air Painting event on Friday and Saturday, March 26th and 27th from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. downtown. It’s going to be a great time for artists in the area to come down and paint different parts of the city,” Simpson said.
The event will feature artists from all around the river region and is entirely free for people who want to register. If interested, please contact special events at 334-595-0850.
“We’re excited about the future and are ready to have continued success with our events, whether it be a play, workshop, or painting opportunity,” Simpson said. “It’s been a tough year for everyone, and we feel like it’s our duty to provide the people of Prattville with something fun and entertaining to do.”
