As part of Tifton's sesquicentennial, or 150th, anniversary of its founding, the Historic Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts has a special one-time showing tonight (Friday) of the 1936 black-and-white film "Pennies From Heaven."

The movie was the first shown at the Tift Theatre when it opened in February 1937. At that time, admission was 25 cents. The 6 o’clock showing tonight will cost $1.25. The film starring Bing Crosby was released in November 1936, and also features Louis Armstrong and his band.

This will be the first showing of "Pennies From Heaven" at the Tift since June 28, 2003, when it also had a special showing in observance of the 10th anniversary of the theater's reopening after a major renovation.

The Tift had shut down in 1987 after 50 years and remained shuttered until 1993. The community had rallied to renovate and reopen the grand old theater, which was designed in Art Moderne style with a multicolored tile facade, Carrara glass, and neon-lit vertical sign and marquee.

With the renovation, the theater's circus-themed interior wall accents were restored. They were originally created by a Ringling Brothers Circus artist who was said to be traveling through town when he was hired to paint the walls inside the new theater in the 1930s.

The Tift's well-worn seats were again restored and repaired in 2017 with the aid of a grant from the Fox Theatre Institute in Atlanta.

Some folks in town say the Tift Theatre is haunted with a ghost from many decades ago. Lights sometime flicker off and on, and items are said to be inexplicably relocated inside the theater.

The legend is that a couple once had an argument but agreed to meet at the Tift Theatre at a specified time if they wished to continue the relationship. The man was said to have been killed in a car crash en route to the rendezvous. Supposedly, his spirit still haunts the theater looking for his long-lost date.

Maybe, just maybe, she will show up tonight when music from "Pennies From Heaven" once again reverberates off the old walls of the theater as it first did so many years ago.

The Tift Theatre opened in February 1937 showing "Pennies From Heaven," and to help celebrate Tifton’s year-long sesquicentennial celebrations, the Tift Theatre will be showing the film, to commemorate the original showing, on Feb. 18 at 6:00 p.m.

"Pennies From Heaven" is a 1936 American musical comedy starring Bing Crosby, Madge Evans, and Edith Fellows. Tickets are $1.25; the ticket price for the original showing was 25 cents.

To help celebrate and reserve your tickets, visit www.purplepass.com/pennies

Because of the length of the Tifton Grapevine, some Internet browsers initially download only part of the Grapevine on your computer or device. To see the entire Grapevine, be sure you click at the bottom of your screen if you get a message telling you to click to "View Entire Message."

As always, the Grapevine is available on our Facebook page as well as our website, www.tiftongrapevine.com where all past editions are archived.

Chandler Livingston was officially named the STAR Student for Tiftarea Academy's Class of 2022 at Thursday's Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon.

The award is given to the student with the highest SAT score. Chandler also scored a perfect composite score on his ACT test. He has been a Tiftarea Academy student since Pre-K.

Chandler chose Christie Livingston as his STAR teacher. In addition to being on the TA faculty, she is also Chandler's mother. In the photo above, Chandler and his mother are joined at the Chamber lunch by his father Chad; representatives of Tiftarea Academy; of Synovus bank, which presented gift certificates; of Southwell, which provided the plaques; and of the Chamber.

Also recognized at the luncheon were the co-STAR students and teachers at Tift County High School: Students Benjamin Vance Wilson and Michal Gregus, and teachers Cindy Marzen and Dr. Adriana Gregusova.

The TCHS students and teachers were profiled in a previous edition of the Tifton Grapevine.

Tift County's positive COVID-19 cases total 201 during the past two weeks, according to data Thursday from the state Department of Public Health (DPH).

The total positive cases represent confirmed and probable results from both PCR and Antigen rapid tests. Tift County’s total positive cases represent 492 cases per 100,000 population, the measure used across the country to compare case rates among communities and states.

Confirmed cases were 70; Tift's testing positivity rate for the period was 17.6%, the DPH reported. An additional three related deaths were reported in the past week among Tift County residents.

Tift has seen a total of 6,237 cases with 159 related deaths, the DPH said.

On Thursday, the state reported 2,557 new confirmed and probable cases across Georgia with 133 additional deaths and 173 new related hospitalizations. The state has recorded a total of 1,889,884 confirmed cases and 29,018 related deaths, the DPH said.

"Realtor Days" were held this week at the state Capitol, and state Sen. Carden H Summers, R-Cordele, met with Realtors from Tift, Coffee, Lee, and Dougherty counties to discuss matters related to the housing industry and private property rights in Georgia.

In the photo, Summers, at center, poses with Ron Branch, right, with Century 21 Smith, Branch & Pope of Tifton, and with representatives of Shiver and Williams Realty of Leesburg, including Jean Shiver, Vonnice Brown, and Renea Miller.

The Oconee Chamber Players will perform at the First Tuesday Concert Series at 7 p.m. March 1 at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. The music of Mozart will be showcased in ABAC’s Howard Auditorium. 

The program will present Mozart’s Piano Quartet in E flat major, and Mendelssohn’s C minor Trio, the last chamber music he lived to see published.

Dr. Susan Roe, head of the ABAC Fine Arts Department, created the First Tuesday Concert Series in 2002, and the tradition continues to provide a venue to the arts for the Tifton community. 

For information, contact Roe at sroe@abac.edu

The Tifton Elks Lodge recently presented a check for $2,000 to the local nonprofit Peanut Butter & Jesus.

The funds come from the Elks National Foundation to provide assistance to local groups that are serving the needy population of the community. 

PB&J serves an average 1,750 bag meals to local children every Saturday. During the quarantine period for the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the organization participated in the local daily feeding program, providing more than 43,500 lunches to Tift County children.

At the check presentation are, from left, Terry Bowen, Jerry Holley, Marty Goff, Tony McBrayer of Peanut Butter & Jesus, Elks Exalted Ruler Spud Bowen, Terry Rowe, Tina Woods, and Justin Odum.

Amy Carter, special assistant to the president at Southern Regional Technical College, and Katie Brey, the SRTC GOAL Student of the Year, told Tifton Rotary Club members Wednesday that parents and others need to combat the stigma of a technical college education. 

GOAL stands for Georgia Occupational Award for Leadership. Brey, of Tifton is the Student of the Year of all four main campuses of SRTC, Carter said. She will participate in a regional competition March 2, in which the winner will advance to state competition.

Brey said she was inspired by her mother, who was a nurse in the newborn intensive care unit. When her children were ages 5, 7, and 9, Brey’s mom went back to medical school, graduated at the top of her class, and became a neuropathologist

When Brey’s oldest son entered college to be a registered nurse, Brey realized it was time for her to go back to school and achieve her own dream of becoming a nurse. 

Having attended a junior college and a university, she began researching technical colleges. She found that 83% of companies are experiencing a shortage of skilled laborers. Graduates of high quality technical colleges have very little trouble finding employment in their fields.

She said technical colleges provide “an education with a purpose” – “They have one goal for graduates and that’s to help them start their careers.” Also, students graduate with little to no debt.  

“We need to educate people that a technical education is a viable first choice option,” Brey said.

Carter reiterated Brey’s points, saying that 99.1% of technical college students find work in their fields. She added that high school students are taking advantage of 28 classes in dual enrollment, allowing many to graduate high school with an associate’s degree or college credits transferrable to universities.

The hit songs of the Eagles will be live on stage at the historic Tift Theatre in downtown Tifton on March 10 when the 7 Bridges Band presents "The Ultimate Eagles Tribute" in the "ABAC at the Tift" series sponsored by Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

With 13 years of touring on the road, the 7 Bridges Band brings a faithful recreation of the Eagles’ concert experience. 

This ABAC at the Tift event is sponsored by Julie Hunt/Captain D’s. The Arts and Culture Series sponsors are JC and Jo Bell.

Tickets are available online at arts.abac.edu or by calling 229-391-4895. Tickets will also be available at the door on the night of the concert; doors open at 6:30 p.m. 

Tift County employees are organizing a food drive to help fight hunger in Tift County.

Through March 15, residents are urged to donate non-perishable food items and paper products to help local folks in need.

Items may be dropped off between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. week days at the Charles Kent County Administration Building on Tift Avenue.

Tuesday was National School Resource Officer Day, and the Tifton Police Department used the occasion to recognize its school resource officers.

The resource officers work with local schools and local kids throughout the community.

Pictured from left are School Resource Officers Mark Driskell, Jill Merritt, Ariel Hart, and Eddie Bailey. Not pictured is Officer Torrie Adams.

A Silent Auction and Dessert Reception will help continue the legacy of a late art instructor at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Proceeds from the silent auction will go toward the Donna Hatcher Memorial Endowed Scholarship to aid art students.

ABACs School of Arts and Sciences will host the auction and reception for Hatcher’s many works of art and sculpture from 7-8:30 p.m. March 12 in the Tom M. Cordell Conference Center at ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture. The auction items will be on display from 1-3 p.m. March 10-12 near the main exhibit hall at the museum. 

Hatcher was an ABAC faculty member for 20 years and died at age 53 in August 2020. Her works to be auctioned include a range of mediums, forms, and subject matter, such as blown glass, found object sculpture, assemblages, photographs, drawings, prints, and paintings, that span decades.

“Donna was an immensely talented artist and gifted instructor,” said Dr. Matthew Anderson, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. “The Donna Hatcher Memorial Endowed Scholarship, recently endowed by her family, carries on her legacy of making a positive impact on ABAC students.”

A local film project filmed in Downtown Tifton moves from paper to premiere when the movie “Gasoline Alley” opens Friday, Feb. 25, at the historic Tift Theatre. The film is an action thriller starring Bruce Willis, Luke Wilson, and Devon Sawa. A red-carpet event begins at 6 p.m. Friday Feb. 25, when doors open; the movie will be shown at 7 p.m. While watching the film, you can point out local landmarks since the movie was filmed 99% in the downtown Tifton area in 2021. There will be two days of screenings – the second on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m. at the Tift Theatre. Tickets are limited and are $7. To purchase, visit: www.purplepass.com/gasoline

The Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts is calling for volunteers next weekend.

For the special premiere of the movie "Gasoline Alley” – filmed last year in Tifton and starring Bruce Willis, Devon Sawa, and Luke Wilson – the theatre needs volunteers for the box office, as well as concession workers, and ushers.

Volunteers are needed at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25; and at 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26.

To volunteer, call 229-326-1982 or email kstokes@tifton.net

To Subscribe, Click Here!

Your free subscription allows you to receive our MidWeek and Weekender editions in your in-box, along with occasional Sponsored Editions.

To Contact Us, Call 478-227-7126

Today, Friday, Feb. 18, is National Drink Wine Day. Wine has been mass produced since at least 6000 B.C. In the 18th century, Georgia was an important wine producer in the U.S. By 1900, the Peach State ranked sixth in production among U.S. states, but the industry was decimated by Prohibition in the 1930s. By the 1980s, wineries started coming back in the state. Georgia is now the national leader in the production of wine from the Muscadine grape.

"Spot" is lovable pooch available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For more information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).

205 Belmont Ave., Tifton, 229-382-6055  

A Service of Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC, Tifton, Georgia