FOLA Holds Annual Meeting January 26

FOLA (Friends of Ludlow Auditorium) will hold its annual membership meeting on thursday, January 26 at 7 PM in the Conference Room at Ludlow Town Hall.


According to Ralph Pace, FOLA Chair, the agenda will include:

•  a summary of the 2011 activities and programs
• a financial report on the status of FOLA
• an update on FOLA's 501(c)(3) status
• the program projections for 2012
• future plans and goals
• election of officers for 2012
• other business 

Pace noted that FOLA had been very active in 2011, citing the following activities sponsored by FOLA during this period:

1. · Skip Gorman and Connie Dover in a country-western concert 
2. · The start of the ‘1st Thursday’ movie series, showing nine family-oriented movies that included: 
3.                § Secretariat 
4.                § March of the Penguins 
5.                § Mamma Mia 
6.                § Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 
7.                § To Kill a Mockingbird 
8.                § Chariots of Fire 
9.                § Close Encounters
10.                § Harvey 
11.                § North by Northwest 
13.  · Rutland Curbstone Chorus in concert 
14. · Sponsored major healthcare forum on Vermont’s proposed “universal healthcare” plan 
15. · Gypsy Reel concert 
16. · A Civil War remembrance piano concert 
17. · Original comedy skits by Stan and Jane Hart, “Old Enough to Know Better”, that drew over 175 people 
18. · The annual Community Christmas Celebration, that drew over 220 people in 2010

As part of its community support goals, FOLA was involved in three collaborations with other town and area groups:

• · The Movie, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, was shown and advertised as a collaboration with the Friends of Fletcher Memorial Library to mark the 50th anniversary of that historic book and film 
• · In conjunction with Black River Academy Museum and the Town of Ludlow, FOLA helped present a piano concert of Mark Twain and Civil War era piano music by Jacqueline Schwab 
• · The healthcare forum, featuring representatives on both sides of the issue, was sponsored by FOLA in conjunction with the Rutland Herald  

In keeping with FOLA’s purpose to enhance the auditorium and promote its use for the benefit of the residents of Ludlow and the area, FOLA formally turned over to the Town of Ludlow the movie and graphics equipment it had purchased in 2010, with the assistance of David Giancola of Edgewood Studios in Rutland. FOLA purchased two Sony blu-ray units to add to this equipment.

FOLA also upgrade the audio system in the auditorium to enhance the sound quality and enable it to support third party user interfaces, such as musical instruments and LPC-TV. FOLA also purchase custom made shades for the main section of the auditorium to provide room darkening facilities when showing movies. In keeping with the donation of an upright grand piano by Glenn Brown, FOLA paid for two tunings of the piano during the year. To make the auditorium slightly more comfortable during the summer, FOLA purchased five quiet floor fans to provide air movement during hot weather. All of the purchase items were given to the Town of Ludlow.

The current officers of FOLA include: Ralph Pace, chair; Anita Alic, Vice Chair; David Almond, Treasurer; Janet Pace, Secretary; and Bruce Farr, Program Director. The meeting is open to all FOLA members; all interested non-members of FOLA are invited to be guests at the meeting. For information, call 228-7239.

FOLA Movies for 2012

Now entering its second year of providing high quality movies to the Black River area, FOLA (Friends of Ludlow Auditorium) has released the schedule for its '1st Thursday' movies for 2012. All the movies are shown on the first Thursday of each month at 7 pm at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium. Admission to all FOLA movies is free; donations are appreciated.


The 2012 season began on January 5 with the classic film, "Casablanca".


The remainder of the schedule is:


February 2 - "Lawrence of Arabia"
March 1 - "Citizen Kane"
April 5 - "On the Waterfront"
May 3 - "The Maltese Falcon"
June 7 - "Dr. Strangelove"
July 5 - "The Manchurian Candidate"
August 2 - "Dances with Wolves"
September 6 - "The African Queen"
October 4 - "Bridge Over the River Kwai"
November 1 - "The Third Man"
December 6 - "Shane"

Additionally, two movies still remain in the 'Okemo Meets FOLA' series:

January 19 - "True Grit"
February 16 - "The King's Speech"


For aditional information, call 228-7239.

'True Grit' Next Featured Ludlow Movie, Jan. 19

The film, "True Grit", will be the third movie in the 'Okemo Meets FOLA' series at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium on Thursday, January 19 at 7 PM. Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. marshal she can find, a man with "true grit," Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn. Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and surprises on the journey, and each has his or her "grit" tested. Featured in the film are Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld (pictured above) along with Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. A Coen Brothers production, the film is an award-winning remake of the John Wayne classic of the same name. The movie is free to everyone; donations are appreciated. For information, call 228-7239. The final in the 'Okemo Meets FOLA' series will "The King's Speech" on Thursday, February 16 at 7PM at the auditorium.

Some Like It Hot Screened Jan. 12 in Ludlow

If you take a close look at the 6 "ladies" pictured above, you may note a somewhat disquieting fact - two of them don't really look like ladies.  That's part of the plot of the January 19 film being shown at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium at 7 PM.  The award-winning film, "Some Like It Hot", is part of the Okemo Meets FOLA movie series.  The plot line provides laughter in a form that only a Billy Wilder movie can imagine.  With a cast including Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Joe E. Brown, augmented by George Raft and Pat O'Brien, it's difficult to find a better comedy match.  When two Chicago musicians, Joe and Jerry, witness the the St. Valentine's Day massacre, they want to get out of town and get away from the gangster responsible, Spats Colombo. They're desperate to get a gig out of town but the only job they know of is in an all-girl band heading to Florida. They show up at the train station as Josephine and Daphne, the replacement saxophone and bass players. They certainly enjoy being around the girls, especially Sugar Kane Kowalczyk who sings and plays the ukulele. Joe in particular sets out to woo her while Jerry/Daphne is wooed by a millionaire, Osgood Fielding III. Mayhem ensues as the two men try to keep they true identities hidden and Spats Colombo and his crew show up for a meeting with several other crime lords.  The movie if free; donations are appreciated.  For information, call 802-228-7239.

Boggie and Bergman Hit Ludlow Jan. 5 in Casablanca

On Thursday, January 5 at 7 PM, FOLA (Friends of Ludlow Auditorium) will start its second season of '1st Thursday' movies at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium with the showing of the classic movie, "Casablanca". Casablanca is an American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in the words of one character, love and virtue. He must choose between his love for a woman and helping her and her Czech Resistance leader husband escape from the Vichy-controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis. Casablanca won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Its characters, dialogue, and music have become iconic, and the film has grown in popularity to the point that it now consistently ranks near the top of lists of the greatest films of all time. The line, "Play it again, Sam", has been woven into our movie culture. The movie is free; donations are appreciated. Other '1st Thursday' films selected by FOLA for the 2012 season include: Lawrence of Arabia, Citizen Kane, On the Waterfront, The Maltese Falcon, Dr. Strangelove, The Manchurian Candidate, Dances With wolves, The African Queen, Bridge Over the River Kwai, The Third Man, and Shane. For information, 228-7239.

FOLA Starts 2012 '1st Thursday' Season with "Casablanca"

On Thursday, January 5 at 7 PM, FOLA (Friends of Ludlow Auditorium) will start its second season of '1st Thursday' movies at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium with the showing of the classic movie, "Casablanca".  Casablanca is an  American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in the words of one character, love and virtue. He must choose between his love for a woman and helping her and her Czech Resistance leader husband escape from the Vichy-controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis.  Casablanca won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Its characters, dialogue, and music have become iconic, and the film has grown in popularity to the point that it now consistently ranks near the top of lists of the greatest films of all time.  The line, "Play it again, Sam", has been woven into our movie culture.  The movie is free; donations are appreciated.  Other '1st Thursday' films selected by FOLA for the 2012 season include:  Lawrence of Arabia, Citizen Kane, On the Waterfront, The Maltese Falcon, Dr. Strangelove, The Manchurian Candidate, Dances With wolves, The African Queen, Bridge Over the River Kwai, The Third Man, and Shane.  For information, 228-7239.

Okemo Meets FOLA Starts Dec. 29 with 'Young Frankenstein'

The special four movie series sponsored jointly by Okemo and FOLA (Friends of Ludlow Auditorium) opens Thursday, Dec. 29 at 7 pm at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium with Mel Brooks' hilarious film, "Young Frankenstein". The film stars Gene Wilder as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein. The supporting cast includes Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn and Gene Hackman. The screenplay was written by Brooks and Wilder.The film is an affectionate parody of the classical horror film genre, in particular the various film adaptations of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein produced by Universal in the 1930s. Most of the lab equipment used as props were created by Kenneth Strickfaden for the 1931 film Frankenstein. To further reflect the atmosphere of the earlier films, Brooks shot the picture entirely in black-and-white, a rarity in the 1970s, and employed 1930s-style opening credits and scene transitions such as iris outs, wipes, and fades to black. As a special added treat, FOLA will raffle-off all of the films it exhibited this past year as part of its '1st Thursday' program. These include DVDs and Blu-Rays of Mamma Mia, March of the Penguins, Secretariat, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chariots of Fire, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Harvey, and North by Northwest. The Okemo-Fola series will continue with the following films: Jan. 12, "Some Like It Hot", Jan. 19, "True Grit", and Feb. 16, "The King's Speech". In addition, FOLA will continue its first Thursday of the month series throughout 2012 starting with the all-time favorite, "Casablanca" on Jan. 5. All films are free; donations are appreciated.

FOLA Readies Christmas Tree for Celebration

In keeping with its tradition, FOLA (Friends of Ludlow Auditorium) helped the Town of Ludlow ready for the Christmas season by erecting the annual Christmas tree in the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium this past week. FOLA will be sponsoring the annual Community Christmas Celebration in the Auditorium on Friday, Dec. 16 at 7 pm. The Christmas tree was decorated by members of FOLA in anticipation of the this celebration.


Pictured above is a display of the difficulty of dealing with bulbs imported from China that lack any means of connecting them to the tree is being solved, with considerable effort, by David Almond and Jim Alic as they patiently insert wire leads into the bulbs, bend the the leads to hold the bulbs securely and pass them to Susan McNeeley who has the responsibility of then bending the other end of the bulb's lead to attach it to the tree. Other FOLA members who participated in the tree decoration included: Anita Alic, Janet Pace, Jean Eggleston, Mary Jane O'Hara, and Patricia and Kevin Kuntz.


The Christmas Celebration on Dec. 16 will feature a number of area residents and students in a variety of holiday presentations.


Constance Wilcox,along with directing the Ludlow Elementary School singers and the Black River High School Chorus, will lead the "Bell Ringers" to start the program.


She will also play piano for two local singers, Cara White and Ashlee Shook, who will be singing some popular Christmas and holiday pop numbers.


The program will feature three student group performances by the Black River High School Jazz Band, the high school chorus, and the 3rd and 4th grade students from Ludlow Elementary School who will lead a sing-along to end the gala event.


Bruce Farr, a local creative writer and commentator, will read the popular Christmas poem, "The Night Before Christmas", accompanied by Tony Masteler on the guitar.


Broadway and TV writers and authors Stan and Jane Hart will offer their own seasonal play, "A Holiday Story".


George Thomson will tie the entire event together acting as program emcee. George will also present the classic reading of "Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus".


The Community Christmas Celebrate is, according to FOLA chairman, Ralph Pace, "FOLA's way of thanking the community for its support of various FOLA activities". For more information about this free event, call 228-7239.

Community Christmas Celebration Dec. 16

Ludlow and the Black River area will enjoy a free "A Community Christmas Celebration" at Ludlow Town Hall's Auditorium on Friday, December 16 at 7 pm, sponsored by FOLA (Friends of Ludlow Auditorium).

Constance Wilcox,along with directing the Ludlow Elementary School singers and the Black River High School Chorus, will lead the "Bell Ringers" to start the program.


She will also play piano for two local singers, Cara White and Ashlee Shook, who will be singing some popular Christmas and holiday pop numbers.


The program will feature three student group performances by the Black River High School Jazz Band, the high school chorus, and the 3rd and 4th grade students from Ludlow Elementary School who will lead a sing-along to end the gala event.

Bruce Farr, a local creative writer and commentator, will read the popular Christmas poem, "The Night Before Christmas", accompanied by Tony Masteler on the guitar.


Broadway and TV writers and authors Stan and Jane Hart will offer their own seasonal play, "A Holiday Story".


George Thomson will tie the entire event together acting as program emcee. George will also present the classic reading of "Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus".


"This will be a chance for FOLA to thank the people for supporting us and to offer everyone a chance to celebrate this holiday with family, friends, and neighbors," said Ralph Pace, FOLA chairman. He indicated that the event was free and open to all to attend.


The Community Christmas Celebration will be at Ludlow's Town Hall on Friday, December 16 at 7 pm. The event is free to everyone. For information, call 802-228-7239.

North by Northwest Next FOLA Film on Dec. 1