The Wilbraham Nature and Cultural Center Inc. have plans to build a cultural theatre at Fountain Park in the near future. President of the Wilbraham Nature and Cultural Center Inc., Jules Gaudreau, and his colleagues see the construction of this theatre is exactly the social and cultural center Wilbraham needs. "We had been discussing for fifteen years what to do, but about five or six years ago we got the idea of the community theatre," said Gaudreau.

The Wilbraham Nature and Cultural Center Inc is a non-profit organization which owns and manages Fountain Park. This Corporation conducted a study throughout the community to see whether the theatre at Fountain Park would be a beneficial addition to the community. "The results showed the need for the facility," said Gaudreau. After the study, the plans of the theatre and the idea of the theatre began to fall into place.

The theatre is meant to bring value and convenience to the community. The main purpose of the theatre is to be used for speeches, art shows, seminars and community gatherings. "It will offer a lot of cultural opportunities to people in the community of all ages, including the people who want to perform," said Gaudreau. "Also, people will not have to travel for entertainment because it will be available in their own town."

Along with bringing value to the community, the corporation has hopes that the theatre will bring an increase of community awareness and participation.

Acting as an attraction for Wilbraham and surrounding towns, the theatre will bring in all different sorts of people and everyone is welcome. "The theatre is to appeal to the entire area. It is not just for Wilbraham but for the greater Springfield Area," said Gaudreau.

The construction of the theatre includes a rehab of the current barn to be used as both an art gallery and a reception area. The theatre will be constructed as an addition to the renovated barn.

The hopes of the theatre's construction also lie in the hands of the community. "Friends of Fountain Park" is the membership association going to be created intended to encourage a community investment, sense of ownership and long term support, and to create a donor basis.

Although the idea and plans are set, "there is no construction deadline," said Gaudreau. "We hope that within the next year, we will get into the construction phase." Despite the fact that the plans have been sought for the past few years, they are finally all coming together in the opportunity to bring the town together.