ALPENA — Thunder Bay Theatre is putting the “fun” in fundraiser with its 2020 season reveal party, “Cue, Color: A Night of Impact.”

On Friday, the evening begins with cocktail hour starting at 6 p.m. in the lobby, and entertainment and a live auction beginning in the theater at 7 p.m. There will also be hors d’oeuvres, gourmet desserts, an open bar, a silent auction, 50/50 raffle, introduction to the new core company, and of course, the much-awaited 2020 season reveal.

“On Friday night, it is going to be a huge party,” said Thunder Bay Theatre Producing Artistic Director Jeffrey Mindock. “There’s going to be live music. We’re going to be announcing our 2020 season, which has our big musicals in the summer, some really fun classics mixed in, and a whole bunch of of kids’ plays. We’re adding some kids’ plays into our roster, so there’s more opportunities for young people to be involved all throughout the year.”

In addition to onstage tables with special desserts and swag bags, all of the live auction items are baskets filled with special experiences that are themed with the shows throughout the upcoming season. One basket has two tickets to the Midland Center for the Arts for their Christmas concert. The big basket is a dinner party for 12 at TBT with live entertainment and whiskey tasting.

Silent auction items will include gift cards from many local restaurants and businesses, and experience packages. The big silent auction item is four tickets to the Michigan State-Penn State game, with Mindock, an avid Penn State football fan, along for the ride.

Entertainment is on tap, but there’s a bigger purpose to the event, and that is securing the longevity of the only year-round professional theater in Northeast Michigan. The goal is to raise $10,000.

“Over the course of 2019, on top of enjoying the new lobby, and reaping those benefits, we’ve had some really big organizations reach out to us that make us feel pretty confident about where the capital campaign project sits,” Mindock explained. “Over the course of the past five years, Thunder Bay Theatre has grown exponentially, thanks to its education programs and our increased revenue via grant funding. And through earned revenue, by more people coming to see the shows, doing more shows. But our contributed revenue in regards to our operational support to allow us to go to these schools, to allow us to bring in these professionals, to allow us to pay them anywhere close to a living wage, or working wage, has started to lag behind. And so, we are using this event, ‘Cue, Color,’ which is our season reveal party, as an opportunity to further cement the vision and future health of the organization.”

A healthy future calls for commitment.

“It’s really important for the community to understand these numbers,” Mindock explained. “Most nonprofits should be operating on a 50 percent earned revenue stream, and a 50 percent contributed revenue stream. … Currently, Thunder Bay Theatre sits at about 85 percent earned revenue, and 15 percent contributed revenue, so those numbers drastically need to be fixed for the health and future prosperity of the organization. And then on top of that, our contributed revenue sits around 60 to 65 percent in federal and state funding, and only about 40 percent of that is from contributed revenue. So those numbers point to the fact that Thunder Bay Theatre has grown, Thunder Bay Theatre is doing well, but we are not necessarily prepared for a crisis or an emergency.”

He added, “Most organizations sit where we sit,” but that more funding would allow for more stability and the continuation of educational programs. Continuing to make an impact in the schools is one of the reasons a fundraiser like this is so important, he said. Another is recruiting and retaining professional talent.

“The number one reason we are unable to retain our employees every single year is simply because of a lack of compensation,” Mindock said. “And they’re not able to stay in Alpena for longer than a year.”

He said Alpena is “a community which is so supportive and so giving,” and that he appreciates the loyal support of donors.

“When we find these young people who want to be here, and who asked to be here, but unfortunately the financial reality of our organizaiton doesn’t allow them to be here, that is heartbreaking,” he said. “I am so incredibly proud of the young professionals that I am able to convince to come to Alpena, because they see my vision and they hear how much I love this community, and how desperately this community needs what we have to offer.”

He said “Cue, Color: A Night of Impact” is an opportunity for the community to come enjoy a night of entertainment while supporting the gem that is Thunder Bay Theatre.

Mindock said the event is being held “so that we can come together as a stronger community of patrons and art lovers to ensure that the young people who invest their time and effort and early part of their careers in Alpena are receiving that same investment from our community.”

Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Call 989-354-2267 or visit thunderbaytheatre.com.

“We are at a point as an organization where we are doing everything that is possible with what we have at our disposal,” Mindock said. “If we want to continue to grow our impact, and continue our impact, we need help. We need the support in more ways. … It means coming to one more show a year. It means bringing friends when you come to see that one more show a year. It means prioritizing getting your kids involved in our educational programs, and in those things, so that we can continue to promise the high quality and consistency of the education, and just the fact that it’s going to be here.”

Andrew Kowalski of Edward Jones Financial is the executive sponsor for this event, and Wolverine State Credit Union is the producer level sponsor.

“It’s going to be a night filled with laughter, entertainment, food and drinks, all going towards Northeast Michigan’s only year-round professional theater,” Mindock said.