Jeanne Becker, Foundation Treasurer

The Greater Sun Lakes Community Foundation has donated $6,000 to Sun Lakes Community Theatre (SLCT) to replace a 15-year-old lighting console, which at the last theatrical production at Oakwood, simply quit working. They were able to finish the show by borrowing the console owned by CWPV and stored at the Cottonwood ballroom, but SLCT needs its own lighting board, as they travel among all Sun Lakes communities doing shows, and occasionally they venture out to other locales throughout the East Valley.

After much research, they were able to find a reasonably priced replacement lighting console that would fit the needs of the theater. The cost of the new lighting console was substantial, but because of the complexities of getting it programmed and the training necessary for the operators, SLCT had to hire a professional production company to handle these ancillary costs, as well as addressing other concerns regarding their lighting and sound equipment. Therefore, the total cost for the replacement of the lighting console, plus the hiring of the qualified professional programmers, plus the training of their staff and other smaller electrical and sound equipment items raised the total.

Sun Lakes Community Theatre strives to give diverse audiences the experiences of live stage plays and improvisational comedy while supporting local schools with Children’s Theater and college scholarships for future thespians. This summer, on July 24-28 at the San Tan Ballroom at Cottonwood Country Club, Sun Lakes Community Theatre will present a murder mystery show called Murder at Café Noir, a 1940s-style Bogart detective story. Tickets are $25 and include a dessert. Tickets for all five shows will go on sale at 10 a.m. on June 25 at the Oakwood Country Club lobby in person, and online tickets can be purchased until the opening show date of July 24 at their website, www.slctinfo.com.

The Greater Sun Lakes Community Foundation is pleased to be able to allocate grants to many Sun Lakes clubs and organizations. All of our Foundation members are volunteers, so 100% of the proceeds from all Foundation events, such as the Christmas Gala, the annual Country Hoedown, raffle tickets to TAD shows at Cottonwood, and private donations, are all granted to our local charities each year. If you are part of a Sun Lakes organization that needs funds to assist your activities, or if you are interested in helping support the Foundation financially or by joining as a “Friend of the Foundation,” please go to our website, www.slcommunityfoundation.com.