By J. Todd Davis, City of Dillon Mayor
It is time that the City of Dillon and Dillon County come together for the sake of the Dillon County Theatre. Last month’s hurricane that swept through Dillon was a blow to many of our homes and businesses. The DCT was no exception. I read tonight that this year’s Veteran’s Day program is being moved to Main Street United Methodist Church due to the water damage of the theatre. If we don’t act now on these modest repairs then these repairs will become major. Moving events out of the theatre will become the norm; however, we don’t have too many locations that are as suitable for performances like the DCT. There is a group now that would like to put on a show in April but as of now the availability is in question.
The Historic DCT on MacArthur Avenue is the very fabric of our community. It’s a wonderful piece of history and is essential to our identity and experience of living in a small town. Ask any senior who lived in Dillon what they remember most about the theatre, and you’ll see a smile come across their face as they proceed to tell you about their cherished memories as they go back in time. Ask a parent about the time they came to see their child or grandchild perform in a musical or drama production. These are times the children and adults never forget! I never had a greater desire to see a Christmas production more than I do now by our own local talent here in Dillon. After the last few months we deserve the opportunity to see one, but we can’t!
These renovations can become a rallying cry for the community. It provides a sense of focus. The community focus can bring entrepreneurs out of the woodwork. If we neglect the DCT then think of the signal it sends to potential business prospects on and off of Main Street. One of the first things I did as Mayor was to tear down the condemned building beside the DCT and built Lockemy Court. For the most part, the courtyard has been a positive for us and definitely for the Theatre.
We are now just starting to address what we can do to revive Main Street. The hurricane was a temporary setback to many businesses on Main. We need a sense of fighting back, and reviving the DCT is a great place to start.
Our young people deserve a place to showcase their talent. Not every child aspires to play football, baseball, or any other sport. They excel in drama, music or both and they want to perform. I bet many of those that play sports are talented in these other areas also. We need to give them a venue to showcase what they can do. We had a functioning theatre, and they should have one also. It’s time for all the parties involved to come together and make this happen.
The city, the county, and the theatre board need to sit down and plan its future. If we don’t address this great need then we’ll all be worse off for it. We were elected to solve problems. Let’s come together for something so many people are better off for having in their community.