By Robert Weiler
The Sharon Cultural Educational Recreational Association building finally got a facelift, and the makeover is attracting visitors to the organization''s various programs.
Better known to locals as SCERA, the organization that was originally just a showhouse continues to expand and remodel.
Showhouse I was built in 1941. It was renovated in the 1960s and again in 1981. In 1995, SCERA added Showhouse II, as well as an art gallery and history museum.
Recently, SCERA painted the building''s exterior, rebuilt the front porch, replaced the tile in the lobby, added dressing rooms for the theater cast and installed a fly system for Showhouse II, said April Wetzel, marketing director for SCERA.
A fly system makes it easier and faster to change scenery and lighting for the musicals and plays. It also allows for more scenery options and makes the process of scene and lighting changes faster and more professional.
Such improvements benefit the stage performances that, along with the movie theater, are commonly seen as the highlight of the building.
However, even the lesser-known features of the center are on the 'things to see and do' list around Orem.
For example, SCERA''s art gallery includes all types of visual art with works done by professionals and students. Currently, paintings and sculptures by Melody Johnson of Lehi are being exhibited.
The Orem Heritage Museum, a collection of over 30,000 pieces of history, represents the old and new Orem with journal entries from the first settlers and a Geneva Steel exhibit.
But the best part about the museum and the gallery is the price to see it all - zip, zero, nothing.
A non-profit organization, SCERA funded the renovations with their reserve fund and operational money, Wetzel said.
The list of SCERA''s services does not stop with the museum and gallery. SCERA offers programs for aspiring young performers. For example, Thursday afternoons at SCERA are reserved for the children''s choir. The choir helps to develop the singing capabilities and provide the children with performing experience at various community functions. The SCERA youth theater group also offers children performance experience and training.
And, as if that weren''t enough, SCERA is starting a new series of events for Orem late-nighters.
Late Night Fridays will begin every Friday at 11 p.m. with a different show every weekend. BYU''s comedy group Divine Comedy will be first on the line-up of acts throughout the season. Other scheduled acts include magician Brian South and local comedy singing group Moosebutter.