The Picture House Community Cheers Kate Douglass On
Last Tuesday, The Picture House hosted an Olympic viewing party to watch Pelhamite Kate Douglass compete in the 200-meter individual medley. Kate’s race was at 10:45 pm, it was pretty late for a week night and we just weren’t sure anyone would come…
At 9:00 pm, our theater started filling up with folks from all across Westchester – people who knew Kate growing up, her teammates, her classmates, her family friends, and even young swimmers just now starting out, who look to Kate for inspiration. They were committed to watching Kate achieve her dream which would fuel their own…and by the start of the race there were 230 people in the house!
Wild cheers at her appearance, a stunned and silent stand up when she fell behind, and a deafening roar that one fan thought must have been heard in Tokyo, spurring her on. Kate won the bronze – and it was an amazing experience inside the 100-year-old theater. (See video links below.)
Looking out over the enthusiastic audience one fan said said “You know there are deep divides in our community – very, very deep. But there are no divides in the audience tonight. There are people here from every Westchester community, every walk of life, every race, every creed, but tonight they are all standing together, undivided, in full-throated support of Kate Douglass and of the American ideal, the American dream we all hold dear.”
At the Picture House, we have three ‘legs’ to our mission – film, education, and community. Last Tuesday night, community was at the fore — and after virtually starving for community for 18 months, we came together at our best. Let’s hold that thought and let it sustain us through the coming months. And on a personal note, I just have to say IT WAS SO GREAT TO SEE YOU ALL!!
Clips courtesy of NBC