Every time some little hooligan sticks a piece of gum under a chair at the Concord City Auditorium, Allwynne Fine thinks of her late husband, Edward.
In 1991, Edward took on the arduous task of scraping all the gum off the theater’s carpets and floor.
“Now every time I see gum left behind by a patron, I think of how diligently he worked at removing years of dried-out gum balls!” Fine said.
Edward’s not the only person who has spent countless hours caring for the Audi. The same year Edward got up close and personal with old, hardened chewing gum, a group of volunteers got together and formed the Friends of the Audi.
True pals of the auditorium, the Friends of the Audi is an all-volunteer group that takes care of everything from raising money to baking cookies for intermission. To put a number on the amount of people involved is nearly impossible, said Carol Bagan, marketing chair of the Audi.
“The (Friends of the Audi) does not have members in the usual sense,” Bagan said. “It’s an umbrella over all the users of the Audi – presenters, producers, performers and the audience. You can even stay at home and think a good thought about the Audi and you’re a friend.”
Hoping to get a more solid figure on how many friends the Audi has (this is the age of Facebook, after all), we asked David Murdo, information chairpman on the auditorium’s board of directors, for numbers.
“Millions!” said Murdo, who’s also the man behind “What’s Happening at the Audi,” a program on ConcordTV. “Anyone who walks through the doors is a friend of the Audi.”
Murdo explained that there are more than 100 cookie bakers alone, and people even volunteer to help put postage on the Audi’s mailings.
“(The Friends of the Audi) is all-volunteer based. There’s no membership fee. We tell people to just come and show up,” he said.
And people do. Since its creation almost 20 years ago, the group has raised more than $1 million to make the Audi what it is today.
“What we do for love,” Bagan said with a smile and a shrug.One way folks show their love for the Audi is by volunteering at the annual Pitch-in. Every August, the Concord community shows up at the auditorium, ready to spruce the place up for the fall season.
Murdo estimated that more than 100 people took time out of their schedules during this year’s Pitch-in. Instead of hanging out at the beach, volunteers chose to spend hours indoors, dusting.
People who partake in the multi-day cleaning fest sign a piece of paper every year that the Friends then frame and hang somewhere in the Audi. Bagan pointed out that although new names are sprinkled throughout, a lot of the same names pop up year after year. That’s dedication.
Bagan believes that people are so willing to give to the Audi because the Audi gives back. “The more they put in, the more affordable it is.”
Ticket prices for this season range from zero to $33. The majority of admission costs are less than $15.
Cheap tickets aside, another reason why people may get into the giving spirit is because the Friends of the Audi make it a point to treat all their donors as equals. “You can’t see on the list of donors who gave $1 or who gave $1,000 because every gift is important,” Bagan said.
Those donations have gone to a number of projects over the years. When the group first came together, one of its initial tasks was to make a wish list full of ways to improve upon the then-87-year-old theater. People like Allwynne, Edward and others congregated to give the interior a fresh coat of paint and with that, item No. 1 was checked off.
Over the years, more tasks were completed – a new Bose sound system was installed, the lights were upgraded, a more user-friendly lobby was created – all thanks to the community’s donations and some hard work.
But, it wasn’t until this past September that the Friends were truly ready to pat themselves on their collective backs. At this year’s annual gala, the crew did more than celebrate the kick-off of the Audi’s new season: they rejoiced over the theater’s new flyspace. The recently-installed mechanical rigging system cost around $200,000 to complete. To the Friends of the Audi, it was worth every dime. The updated flyspace not only brought the 106-year-old theater into the 21st century, but it also laid something very important to rest. After almost 20 years, the original wish list was finally complete.
But that doesn’t mean the group’s work is done. Murdo wouldn’t tell us if the group is planning to produce a new list or what the next big project may be, but with a sly smile he told us that a few ideas have been floating around. In the mean time, all proceeds will go into a general fund.
“I think it’s a village well,” Bagan said. “As far as I can tell, this is the only place in Concord where everyone can come together as a community. Here, everyone is together: rich and poor, able and disabled, young and old.”
“(The Audi) is all inclusive. Everyone is welcome. Everyone is needed.”
