Tennessee Theatre hosts ‘Costumes and Classic Cartoons’ free open house, October 29

The Tennessee Theatre invites families and children to wear their best family-friendly costumes and enjoy the free ‘Costumes and Classic Cartoons Open House’ on Saturday, October 29, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Families will enjoy Looney Tunes classic cartoons on the Tennessee’s screen, Mighty Wurlitzer organ music, self-guided dressing room tours, face painting and old-fashioned candy provided by Mast General Store. The Tennessee Theatre open house series is sponsored by McCarty Holsaple McCarty.

“At last year’s event, many of the children who came through our doors were experiencing the grandeur of the Tennessee Theatre for the first time,” Tennessee Theatre Executive Director Becky Hancock said. “This daytime event is a great way to introduce the next generation to our beautiful venue, as well as honor our theater’s long tradition of daytime children’s clubs. I am excited to be able to open our doors for Halloween family fun this fall.”

During the open house, a short reel of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoons will be shown at intervals between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Each screening will be introduced with organ music played by house organist Bill Snyder on the Mighty Wurlitzer.

In between screenings, the dressing room areas will be open to the public for self-guided tours, and face painting and Mast General Store will be handing out old-fashioned candy at stations throughout the lobby and foyers. Popcorn, soda, candy and other basic concessions will be available for purchase, as well as gift shop items, with all proceeds going to the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation.

Children ages 12 and under are invited to come dressed in festive Halloween costumes. The Theatre requests that costumes be family-friendly and not scary. Toy weapons will not be permitted.

During the Tennessee Theatre’s history, Saturday mornings often were dedicated to children’s programming with several memorable clubs over the decades that welcomed children to the theater.

In the late 1930s and 1940s, the Popeye Club offered Saturday activities with cartoons, a movie serial, and amateur stage show with house organist Billy Barnes, all for 10 cents. The Chipmunk Club of the 1960s and 1970s offered cartoons and movies for the admission price of empty bags of Tom’s potato chips and featured a performance from Bobo the Clown.

Published October 28, 2016