2009 Welcome to Wise.indd - Wise County Messenger

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BRIDGEPORT Stage
The Bridgeport Stage has watched its city change and grow from its
viewpoint in the heart of downtown. It has seen the downtown district
succeed, it has witnessed its downfall, and now, its revitalization.
The Bridgeport Stage has had its share of success and failure. In fact, the building sat empty
and decaying for more than 20 years.
But in the mid-1990s, a group of
Bridgeport residents tackled the tall
order of restoring the Bridgeport
Theater. Over a period of 10 years,
utilizing money from the Bridgeport
Economic Development Corp. and
private donations, the group brought
the dilapidated building back to life.
Now the theater, which operates
under the Bridgeport Main Street Department,
hosts Off 380 productions,
concerts, pageants, training seminars
and various meetings.
The theater recently received an
interior facelift, and plans are in place
to restructure the building’s facade.
“Most of the improvements are
geared toward the performer,” Main
Street Manager Angie Tyson said of
the interior renovations.
With the upgrades and renovations,
she is hoping for more activity at the
Stage, which is home to the Off 380
Players.
“They bring so many people to this
building. They have a place where
they can be comfortable. It’s a beneficial
partnership for both of us,” Tyson
said.
The Stage also hosts training meetings,
concerts and church events.
“We’ve had rock concerts in here,
acoustic concerts, Christian music.
We’d love to have something in here
on a regular basis,” Tyson said. “I
would encourage people to come
to the theater and see what is here.
We’ve had live drama, concerts, baby
pageants, oil field training and civic
club meetings.”
The Stage hosts movie nights as
well. In order to accommodate the
crowds, a parking lot is planned behind
the Stage.
“We’re very committed to giving our
residents something to enjoy in the
town. It’s a quality of life focused effort,”
Tyson said.
The Bridgeport Stage is located at
1009 Halsell Street and is available
for rent. For more information, call
(940) 683-3485.
LAKE BRIDGEPORT Cleanup
Lake Bridgeport.
Hundreds of thousands of gallons of
beautiful water for boating, fishing and
general merriment, and almost 120
miles of coastline for relaxing, picnicking
and more merriment.
Unfortunately, its also a prime spot
for waste and trash to build up. To
combat the trash, the Tarrant Regional
Water District puts on a yearly Lake
Bridgeport Cleanup event in April.
“Lake Bridgeport provides most of
the local cities in the area with water
and is a popular recreational spot for
the community, so it’s really important
that we make every attempt to keep the
water and the surrounding shoreline as
clean as possible,” said Richard Ellis,
the superintendent for the lake. “During
our lake cleanup event we provided
a place to move all the waste that could
possibly end up in the watershed.”
This year’s cleanup campaign proved
to be just as successful as the nine before
it.
More than 240 individuals and groups
signed up online to participate in the
cleanup, including the Lake Bridgeport
Fire Department, Decatur Power
Sports, the North Side Marina and
many others.
The trash collected filled an estimated
six 30-cubic-yard dumpsters, which
comes to about 15 tons of trash.
“The event is really a combined effort
from so many great places,” Ellis
said. “Local trash companies provided
all the dumpsters and disposed of the
trash, and the entire Wise County was
very helpful and involved.”
After cleaning all morning, a party
was held for all that participated with
lunch, free T-shirts, live entertainment,
fun for the children and prizes and
giveaways.