Weston Birthday Bash
Summer Fun for the Whole Family

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The celebrations include a parade, live music and entertainment on the Green, a scavenger hunt, local food vendors, and birthday cake and ice cream for all, courtesy King Arthur Flour and Wilcox Dairy. A special evening will cap off the party with an Alumni Celebration performance at 7:30 p.m., followed by a three-story Playhouse Party and Open Mic in the Cabaret.

“The Weston Playhouse and The Vermont Country Store have grown side by side in Weston over the decades, from store founder Vrest Orton printing the theatre’s first playbills through contributed space that allowed us to establish our first year-round offices to generous sponsorships that support our expanded programs and future plans,” says Steve Stettler, Producing Artistic Director at Weston Playhouse Theatre Company. “It’s a natural — and a pleasure — to celebrate these special anniversaries together in and with this unique village that we both call home.”

The rich history of Weston Playhouse dates back to the Great Depression-era. In 1935, local architect Raymond Austin was masterminding a playhouse for the town’s dramatic club out of the beautiful architecture of a former church. The first summer stock season opened in 1937 under director Harlan Grant, and with young actor Lloyd Bridges on the scene. The success of that first season set the tone for Weston Playhouse’s 80 years, even surviving fire and flood. The current capital campaign to preserve the Walker farmstead in Weston as a year-round center for play development is an active sign of the organization’s continuing success as a grassroots theater. Weston Playhouse is the oldest community theater in Vermont and the 13th oldest in the country. People from around the region and beyond look forward to the summer season at the Playhouse.

The Vermont Country Store is equally rooted in Weston and has grown with people’s enthusiasm for it. Vrest and Ellen Orton opened the store in 1946, inspired by his father’s general store in North Calais that started up in 1897. The Vermont Country Store’s unique style evolved out of the founder’s old-fashioned values, and is rooted in being “Purveyors of the Practical and Hard-to- Find.”

Partnering with Weston Playhouse for the Birthday Bash was an easy decision. “The idea of working with Weston Playhouse Theatre Company to celebrate our anniversaries and the whole Town of Weston just makes sense,” says Eliot Orton of The Vermont Country Store. “We have supported the theater company throughout the decades as a family and as a business. They are a vital part of our community and we are fortunate to have one of the best summer theaters in the country right across the village green. Weston is the glue that binds us, and it’s important to take a day to celebrate our rich heritage with our friends and family.”

For more information about the Weston Birthday Bash, visit www. westonplayhouse.org. The Alumni Celebration performance is free but seating is limited so reservations are suggested.