VERGENNES — The Aug. 20 Royal Southern Brotherhood benefit concert at and for the Vergennes Opera House may not have been a huge financial windfall for the Friends of the Vergennes Opera House (FVOH), but FVOH head Gerianne Smart said the event raised the city theater’s profile and should give the group a shot in the arm.
More than 200 people enjoyed a group that features Cyril Neville of the Neville Brothers and Devon Allman, son of Greg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band, Smart said. The new, bigger FVOH board considers the event a step forward.
“All of us on the board of directors feel this event was a home run for the Opera House, a home run for the community and a home run for this newly formed team of directors,” she said. “Everything we do is an opportunity to learn in terms of what it will take to create a sustainable organization. I’d say this successful concert provided a gigantic opportunity and an exciting platform for us to work toward our sustainable organizational goals.”
The event, which was presented in tandem with WZXP-FM 97.9, also did put some coin in the FVOH coffers.
“High-caliber groups like the Royal Southern Brotherhood command a good fee and we knew that going in,” Smart said. “Before expenses we netted a little under $1,000, which may not seem like much but we were working toward a larger gain that is not measured in dollars but rather in good will, in a good time and in introducing people to the possibilities of future events like this.”
Upcoming events in the Vergennes Opera House include a movie by Vermont filmmaker Jay Craven, “Northern Borders,” on Sept. 13, and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra on Sept. 21. More information about those events is at www.vergennesoperahouse.org.