Around Town

I organized a tour of our local theatre and town hall, which took place the other day. This trip was motivated by our interest in local history and our embracing the community we live in. I invited the local homeschoolers, giving us a group of about 30 people.
The theatre tour took us through the front and backstage, the orchestra pit, on stage, the balcony, the side wings, the lighting booth and the scoop on the best seats in the house. Our family have all seen a show here, so it was great to get an official tour. For some family members being on stage is what dreams are made of, for others not so much.

Our tour of the Town Hall began in the Council Chambers, although this particular city is new to us, we are strangers to such a room. We were pleasantly surprised to have the Mayor pop in for a chat. He was surprised to see a large group of homeschoolers and learn that this was just a small size of what is in the area. The kids asked lots of questions about a recent fire that happened in town, displacing 70 some people. The Mayor shared that what he is most proud of is beautifying a certain section of town and the most difficult part of his job is the lack of kindness some people show when they don't have all the information.
As a group we were taken through the different departments, ending in the bylaws office. Here we were introduced to two of the bylaw officers, hearing about dog rescue and downtown parking. The office was extremely crowded, making it a little comical having the big long line of us wiggle through all the little cubicle corridors.

At the front of town hall there is a display describing who Captain Hunt was and the origins of Huntsville. We ended with a search for the dates on the outside of the buildings. It was another building block in local history for us.