The Panida Theater
Encyclopedia
The Panida Theater is a small community theater in Sandpoint
, Northern Idaho in the United States of America. The theater was built as a vaudeville and movie house by F.C. Weskil in 1927. Deriving its name from "the PANhandle of IDAho", The Panida opened as a vaudeville
and movie house in 1927, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. Past performers have included Bonnie Raitt
, Arlo Guthrie
, Wynton Marsalis
, and Mitch Miller
. Actor Viggo Mortensen
began his acting career at The Panida.
After fading into disrepair from lack of maintenance and interest, a group of community members formed a nonprofit organization which bought the theater in 1985. The Panida Theater is operated through a nonprofit corporation under the direction of a board of trustees, elected at an annual meeting of theater members (persons who donate time or money to the theater and/or attend events). Day to day operations are overseen by an Executive Director
, hired by the board of trustees. Karen Bowers has held the position of Executive Director since 1987.
In addition to performance events, including some locally produced, the theater is also a film venue, showing award-winning films such as You and Me and Everyone We Know and Paradise Now
in a film series entitled "the Global Cinema Café," as well as selections from the Banff Mountain Film Festival
.
Sandpoint, Idaho
Sandpoint is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Bonner County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 7,365 at the 2010 census.Sandpoint's major economic contributors include forest products and light manufacturing, tourism and recreation and government services...
, Northern Idaho in the United States of America. The theater was built as a vaudeville and movie house by F.C. Weskil in 1927. Deriving its name from "the PANhandle of IDAho", The Panida opened as a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and movie house in 1927, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Past performers have included Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Davy Guthrie is an American folk singer. Like his father, Woody Guthrie, Arlo often sings songs of protest against social injustice...
, Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
, and Mitch Miller
Mitch Miller
Mitchell William "Mitch" Miller was an American musician, singer, conductor, record producer, A&R man and record company executive...
. Actor Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. is a Danish-American actor, poet, musician, photographer and painter. He made his film debut in Peter Weir's 1985 thriller Witness, and subsequently appeared in many notable films of the 1990s, including The Indian Runner , Carlito's Way , Crimson Tide , Daylight , The...
began his acting career at The Panida.
After fading into disrepair from lack of maintenance and interest, a group of community members formed a nonprofit organization which bought the theater in 1985. The Panida Theater is operated through a nonprofit corporation under the direction of a board of trustees, elected at an annual meeting of theater members (persons who donate time or money to the theater and/or attend events). Day to day operations are overseen by an Executive Director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
, hired by the board of trustees. Karen Bowers has held the position of Executive Director since 1987.
In addition to performance events, including some locally produced, the theater is also a film venue, showing award-winning films such as You and Me and Everyone We Know and Paradise Now
Paradise Now
Paradise Now is a 2005 film directed by Hany Abu-Assad about two Palestinian men preparing for a suicide attack in Israel. It won a Golden Globe for best foreign language film and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category....
in a film series entitled "the Global Cinema Café," as well as selections from the Banff Mountain Film Festival
Banff Mountain Film Festival
The Banff Mountain Film Festival is an international film competition and an annual presentation of short films and documentaries about mountain culture, sports, and environment. It was launched in 1976 as The Banff Festival of Mountain Films by The Banff Centre and is held every fall in Banff,...
.