We have exciting news to share with you; but first, a little history on WCI’s journey to build a theater in town!
Bringing a movie theater back to Westport has been a longstanding dream for many of us who remember once having five big screens in town. Those theaters represented an essential component of Westport’s cultural offerings and also served as a pedestrian traffic-builder for downtown businesses. We started the Westport Cinema Initiative (WCI) based on a survey indicating Westporters’ strong desire to have a movie theater back in town. We’ve always intended to build community through film. Over the years, with the help of supporters like you, we’ve created real equity and goodwill for our dream – even establishing a sense of inevitability about our ultimate success! We are eternally grateful for your support and we’re now eager to share some exciting developments.
WCI & CAPE Join Forces
We believe that we are closer to actualizing a community theater in town than ever before. The big difference is the contagious new energy generated by a group of enthusiastic new board members who are passionate advocates for people with disabilities. Known as “CAPE”, an acronym for Creating Acceptance through Purposeful Employment of people with disabilities, these advocates have been actively pursuing an employment model similar to the Prospector Theater in Ridgefield. The Prospector, a first-run movie theater, is unique in its commitment to job training and integrated employment for people of all abilities and has been a great success. We believe that CAPE and WCI perfectly complement one another with our combined vision to enhance Westport’s social, cultural and employment landscape.
WCI and CAPE’s official merger brings us all a step closer to realizing our dream of building a new theater and community center in town! To that end, we have reorganized into a combined 501(c)(3) organization, starting with an amended mission:
A non-profit movie theater acting as a cultural and community hub, providing training and purposeful employment to adults with disabilities.
Our Merged Board
Our new board, complete with WCI’s experienced and knowledgeable film enthusiasts and CAPE’s motivated and passionate advocates for people with disabilities, has been meeting regularly for several months now and we are more dedicated than ever to building a theater in town! With our expanded mission, energized board, and an enhanced sense of purpose, we are looking forward to building a theater that brings our community together with an additional focus on employment and inclusion in town.
Thank you to all who have supported us in the past. We will continue to build and rely on your continued support as we develop plans to make a theater a reality. Please keep checking this website, Facebook or Twitter for updates.
With gratitude for your enthusiasm and excitement for the future,
WCI & CAPE
Announcing WCI’s New Board of Directors:
Joanna Borner
Stacie Curran
Marina Derman
Cornelia Fortier
Diane Johnson
Diane Kwong-Shah
Larry Perlstein
Jeffrey Peterson
Lee Rawiszer
Jonathan Steinberg
Deirdre Teed
Douglas Tirola
Michelle Vitulich
Sandy Lefkowitz, Ex officio & Founding Director, will serve on our Professional Advisory Committee
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