BELFIELD, N.D. (AP) - Belfield holds down the busy interchange of Highway 85 and Interstate 94, where oil workers in big trucks and tourists in campers create a steady stream of traffic on the highway.
But downtown Belfield is a time-traveling, quiet distance from all of that buzz, the Bismarck Tribune (https://bit.ly/1So3313 ) reported. A collection of charming and historic brick buildings facing Main Street tell the town’s story of years gone by and around the corner is the Belfield Theater, an iconic, post-World War II building that is undergoing the transformation of its lifetime.
The eye of that transformation tornado is Natalie Muruato, city auditor and participant in the long-standing North Dakota Extension Service Leadership Program.
The 18-month program required her to pick a community project, but it turns out, the theater may have picked her. It’s been closed for a couple of years after operating for two decades under the town park board as a community and volunteer service.
She’s turned her hand to historic buildings in Beach, where she lives, relishing the opportunity to make what’s old new again while staying true to history.
“This is right up my alley,” said Muruato, adding she was delighted to find original sconces stored away and recently, with help, repainted most of the interior in a gold and maroon-red theme that will be jazzed up with curtains, carpets and chandeliers.
The town park and theater board remain involved, the local chamber pitched in for new digital projection equipment and area businesses are donating time and materials.
“I started this with the hopes of being able to bring in a little live theater, but the town wants a movie theater because it was such a hub for a long time,” she said.
Turns out, the town will get more than it had hoped.
Even though the theater is closed to the public, it’s in use as a studio for the North Dakota Cowboy Association’s weekly productions of Special Cowboy Moments. These “moments” are video interviews of area cowboys and ranch families for NBC local television broadcast.
Kevin Holten is a producer and said he’s been getting by using an area of the theater for light and sound equipment. But Muruato’s interest - “She’s a rock star,” he says - has opened a whole new world of possibilities.
“With Natalie’s work with grants to bring back a theater, we saw the potential for events to honor cowboys and other things,” Holten said. “This is a marriage of opportunities that will be beneficial for everyone, and those are usually the ones that work out best.”
A theater board and the association are working on an operating agreement for a reinvigorated Belfield Theater and Performance Center.
The debut will be May 14, featuring a kickoff of the Chris LeDoux Tribute Tour, a medley of music and narration celebrating the life of LeDoux, a bareback champion and early day Garth Brooks-style performer, performed by Outlaw Sippin’ Productions.
Holten said the Belfield Theater is centrally located and should attract audiences from Bowman to Watford City and Wibaux, Montana, to Dickinson, and beyond.
“This is a great venue. We anticipate being able to tape Special Cowboy Moment episodes in front of audiences, hold concerts and have live broadcasts,” Holten said.
Muruato, meanwhile, is overseeing the restoration and renovation that will turn the theater into a venue for movies, studio production and gala events. Movie nights should begin in early summer.
The events will bring life to the building, but she believes the building’s ambiance will be its own draw.
“That’s what will get people coming back, is the feel of it, that nostalgia and elegance,” she said.
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Information from: Bismarck Tribune, https://www.bismarcktribune.com
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