On Nov. 12, 1994, the 1891 Fredonia Opera House opened with a sold-out variety show that celebrated the culmination of a major restoration effort. What had been the Winter Garden Theatre until it closed in 1981, reopened after nine years of work performed largely by volunteers.

On the same date exactly 30 years later, Dick Gilman, one of those volunteers, gives a presentation on just how that restoration project progressed.

Gilman’s talk offers a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges and accomplishments, the set-backs and the leaps forward that transpired over nine years. Photos rarely seen in three decades will be paired with stories culled from various volunteers giving their perspectives of the immense undertaking.

Admission to the lecture is free, with donations gratefully accepted. Opera House programming is made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Free admission events are supported, in part, by the Ralph Wilson Jr. Arts & Cultural Initiative as administered by the Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo.

The seats of the theater were in terrible condition prior to the restoration, which began in 1985. The former Winter Garden had closed in 1981, after years of neglect and a lack of maintenance and upkeep. The venue then sat unused for four years until the Fredonia Preservation Society, formed specifically to save the theater, began work on the restoration.

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center is a member-supported not-for-profit performing arts center with a mission to “present the performing arts for the benefit of our community and region … providing access to artistic diversity … and high quality programming at an affordable price.” It is located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.