Butler Rotary hosts preview event for Steeples & Stacks
A few dozen Butler County luminaries got an early preview on Tuesday night, March 3, at the Penn Theater for July’s Steeples & Stacks event, planned for Friday and Saturday, July 10 and 11, in downtown Butler and hosted by Butler Rotary Club PM and the Butler Cultural District.
Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche, also an ardent Rotarian, said the upcoming event — which comes a week after the nation’s 250th birthday — is a celebration of Butler’s industrial, cultural and religious history.
“We had this vision way back then, in 2022, to do an event that would celebrate our cultural heritage that is based in the industry and faith,” Osche said. “We're going to do that this summer because it's the America250 celebration so it's a perfect time to celebrate Butler’s cultural heritage.”
The Butler Cultural District, a creation of the Rotary Club of Butler PM, was formed in 2022 to promote fine arts in the city, including organizations such as the Butler Symphony Orchestra, the Butler Arts Center, the Maridon Museum and the Hobnob Theatre.
According to Osche, the genesis for the Steeples & Stacks event was a photo taken by local hobbyist photographer Ben Hughes — a panoramic shot of the Butler skyline that features the courthouse clock tower and numerous church spires. Osche says the photo was taken for the Cultural District’s first public event in 2022, and entered into a banner contest.
The photo itself netted Hughes a “people’s choice” award and $300 in the contest, even though — according to Osche — the dimensions weren’t quite what they were looking for.
“Problem was, the banners were vertical and this was a horizontal photo,” Osche said. “And I said, ‘Ben, hold on to that, because I have an idea.’ When you look at that, you see all the steeples and then you see some of the stacks.”
“This photo isn't just mine. It's all of ours,” Hughes said to attendees during the event. “Steeples & Stacks is faith and hard work. Hard work is where we were back then and where we are today and where we're going to be tomorrow.”
While plans for Steeples & Stacks aren’t quite set in stone, some of the planned highlights were mentioned during Tuesday night’s preview. These include the creation of a community mosaic on the wall of the Penn Theater itself, with the help of Nebraska-based glass artist Carrie Strope.
Another highlight includes the dedication of a bench in front of the former National Guard armory, now Independence Health System Family Services, on North Washington Street, in honor of Charles Albert Waters: a Butler native who, during the 1880s, became the first Black soldier in the Pennsylvania National Guard.
During the preview event, organizers welcomed suggestions from attendees with an “idea board” and also took the names of those who expressed a willingness to volunteer their services.
“If there are artists, performers or characters (who) want to participate in some ways … if they want to help plan the dinner, anything they might want to do, we’re going to ask them to sign up,” Osche said.
During the preview event, Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy appeared and spoke on behalf of the city’s fine arts institutions.
“Probably one of my greatest and biggest pet peeves in the world is when people say there's never anything to do around here,” Dandoy said. “We have these amazing, amazing groups in our arts community in this town and to be able to highlight them once more with this incredible festival is really a great thing for us to do.”
Tuesday night’s preview event was capped by an improvisational comedy performance by the Hobnob Theatre.
