‘We just need a little help’: Strand Center looking to raise $50K to keep doors open
By Alexis Crandall
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PLATTSBURGH, New York (WPTZ) — The Strand Center for the Arts is facing a financial crisis. It needs to raise $50,000 to keep operating.
“Right now, we just need a little help,” said theater manager Jamie Durivege.
Last year, the Strand had a banner year, bringing in over $800,000 in ticket sales, and that trend continued at the start of 2026. But in March, ticket sales dropped.
“Internally, we’ve been talking about this since March. We immediately cut expenses in March. We’ve been running on fumes all year long,” executive director Megan Charland said. “The need for community support right now is that we’ve already exhausted so many other options. Lines of credit, refinancing the mortgage on the theater. We’re still making mortgage payments.”
As people cut back on spending to have money for gas and groceries, Charland said, the arts are one of the first things to be cut from budgets.
Some other venues have an endowment, but not the Strand, putting them in dire straits as it enters what is supposed to be its busy season.
“We have no safety net. Sometimes it’s month to month. Sometimes it’s week to week,” said Durivege. “We do our best to try to drive the revenue in the theater. We’ve been doing quite well. It’s just things just aren’t where they should be as far as sales right now.”
Programs are continuing at the Strand inside the theater and arts center. There are no plans right now to cut any of them.
Friday night there was a gallery display of local art, which event organizers say highlights the need for a space like the Strand within the Plattsburgh community.
“It’s wonderful. It’s lovely to see everybody be able to come together in a shared space for art and then just be able to mingle together and have a good time together,” gallery manager Elsa Koop-Angelicola said.
The Strand will be posting updates online.
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