Peabody’s Sunflower Theatre gets $20,000 grant

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Sunflower Theatre will get an executive director thanks to a $20,000 grant from Kansas Arts Commission.

That will pay for a director’s salary.

The theater’s board of directors has functioned without a director for six years, secretary Becki Yoder said.

“Honestly, we have a very active board of directors,” she said. “Susan Mayo does our grant writing. She’s kind of the steam engine. Again, our board is very active. We have to be.”

Removal of asbestos inside the building was completed in June, Yoder said.

“We started giving tours at that time,” she said.

The final bill for asbestos removal was $60,000. An original bid in 2020 was $20,000.

The building was a bowling alley from the early 60s until several years ago when the bowling alley closed.

“When I saw it the first time, I thought, wow, that’s pretty amazing, it’s really overwhelming,” Yoder said. “You see that art deco, and you kind of get the picture of what it looked like when it was operating as a theater.”

The board is looking for photos of what the theater looked like in its heyday.

Photos are being accepted by mail at 114 S. Walnut St., Peabody KS 66866.

“Everything should be up and going in about three years,” Yoder said. “People have a passion to see this happen. That’s what it’s about.”