This weekend marks a milestone as the
Sautee Nacoochee Center
celebrates 35 years of performing arts with SOLfest, an immersive outdoor arts festival running June 20–22.
At the heart of the festival is a reimagined production of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
, performed across the SNC campus in a unique, scene-to-scene experience. The production begins at 7:30 p.m. each night.
Spearheading the project is the Center’s Director of Performing Arts, Jenna Scaramuzzo. She told Now Habersham about the production’s history at the SNC, notably that it was the first production ever held there.
“Our director, Brent Glenn, was in the very first production, so it’s truly a 35 year reunion,” Scaramuzzo said.
She highlighted the community aspect of the productions creation, saying that “if you want to be involved, we will let you be involved.”
“It creates the sense of community we want to build with the production,” Scaramuzzo said.
The community element of the production was also utilized behind the scenes, according to Jeff Becker, the show’s set designer.
“I put a list out of things I wanted and [the response from the community] was almost immediate.” Becker said. “I said, ‘I need fans,’ and an hour later, they’re here. ‘I need bubble machines;’ an hour later, they’re here. This is a community that really showed up when we needed it.”
Friday and Saturday shows of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
are sold out, but a limited number of tickets remain for Sunday’s performance. Tickets range from $5–$25 and are available at
sauteenacoocheecenter.org
.
Late-night cabaret and open lawn gatherings will fill the weekend with creativity and conversation. The weekend also includes:
- A “Why Theatre?” panel (Friday at 2 p.m.)
- Story Circles (Saturday at 2 p.m.)
- Late Night Off-Center cabaret (Saturday at 10:30 p.m., adults only)
- Arts Folks Under the Oaks (Sunday at 2 p.m.)
Most SOLfest activities are free and open to the public. Preregistration is encouraged.
The Sautee Nacoochee Community Association is a member-based organization serving Northeast Georgia. The Sautee Nacoochee Center is located at 283 Highway 255 North in Sautee.
