Volunteers clean up center, community

NORWALK — Volunteers representing the Norwalk Arts Center recently came together for a vegetation cleanup event at the Norwalk Theatre. "We are so thankful to our awesome volunteers," according to a center statement. "We cleaned up the brush between the theater and our neighbors' properties," it added. "Many hands make light work. It looks so different and so much better. We even had our friend, Myrtle, the praying mantis, oversee our work." The center's mission strives to "celebrate and increase advocacy for the arts in north-central Ohio by providing education, experiences and environments for artistic growth," according to its mission statement. Many people thanked the volunteers for their cleanup contributions. "This is the best group of people," Denise Shults said. "They helped us clean up our side yard and did the whole thing in under two hours. I'm blown away by your dedication and teamwork. We would have never gotten this done by ourselves. Thank you so much. Norwalk Arts Center is truly making a difference." It's not known when work could start or when the theater could reopen. Funding remains the largest obstacle to reopen the facility. The project, however, received $4 million in state tax credits earlier this summer. The total project cost totals about $10.5 million.