ZELIENOPLE — The Strand Theater will be honored July 21 with the Community Champion Award, which recognizes organizations that have a positive impact in the community.

The theater was picked for the award by the Butler County Chamber of Commerce and the Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau.

The award is sponsored by 4-Most Group, an architectural firm, while the noon lunch is sponsored by the Butler Eagle. It will take place at the theater, 119 N. Main St., Zelienople.

The Strand Theater, built in 1914, originally was a fruit market that also showed silent films and hosted live Vaudeville theater acts. In 1939, with the rising popularity of talking movies, The Strand dedicated itself exclusively to showing movies and underwent its first renovation.

The theater closed in the 1980s.

The Strand Initiative, a nonprofit group dedicated to the revival of the theater, bought the building in 2002. Outside renovations were done by January 2005 and renovations to the theater's interior have been ongoing since July 2007.

The group has raised $1.7 million toward its campaign and to fund the renovations.

The Strand Initiative hopes to transform the theater into a facility capable of presenting full-scale theatrical productions and showing films.

To make a reservation or for information, call the chamber at 724-283-2222 or visit its website online at http://ButlerCountyChamber.com.