Photo by Sam McIntosh.

Attending high school in rural Iowa, it’s not a surprise to see a theatre production in a “gymatorium” or “cafetorium”, but at the Iowa Mennonite School, they’ve been able to showcase their fine arts programs for the past 10 years with their Celebration Hall auditorium.

IMS Director of Advancement Jeremy Ours talks about the impact of Celebration Hall, “For us to have this, in more of a rural setting, you know a smaller 1A school, to have this type of space, I think, is a big deal. And honestly, as nice as our campus is, this is sort of the jewel of campus. When alumni come back, or we give tours to prospective families, this sort of ends up being the last place that we end up. It really sort of blows people’s minds when they see the space.”

IMS has invited alumni that were involved in the fine arts programs to take part in their “Into the Black” 10 year celebration. There will be choral performances from alums as far back as 1968, and selections from various musical productions over the past decade. Ours describes the significance of this event, “Anytime we have these milestone events here, I think it’s important to involve the community and bringing alumni back, bringing the community back in to celebrate these things, whether it’s a state championship or something like this. We have this fantastic space, it was finished 10 years ago, so let’s celebrate that. Let’s celebrate fine arts over the years at IMS.”

This celebration is also serving as a fundraiser to raise $60,000 in one evening for the school, which is where the event got its title, “Into the Black”. Along with a night full of performances, there will be a video montage presentation of the construction of the auditorium, an art gallery, and a silent auction. The celebration takes place June 9 at 7:30 p.m. at IMS.