Coming Soon — A Mini-Walk of Fame for Cerrito Theater

The resurrection of the Cerrito Theater from an old furniture store warehouse into a thriving neighborhood movie theater could not have happened without the support and generosity of the El Cerrito community.

Walking the halls of the theater, one can see just how many people supported this cause. The Friends of the Cerrito Theater's Donor Recognition Program, coordinated by Dianne Brenner, commemorates donations with plaques throughout the theater. Soon this recognition will extend to the sidewalk outside.

"The plaques that you see throughout the theater—on the edges of tables, on the walls in the hallway leading to the downstairs theater, and eventually stars placed in the sidewalk in front of the theater represent different levels of donations," Brenner said in an e-mail.

Long-awaited plans for a walk-of-fame style display on the sidewalk out in front of the Cerrito Theater, featuring stars honoring the theater's biggest donors, will be coming to fruition at the end of the summer as a part of El Cerrito's San Pablo Avenue Streetscape Project.

Donors who contributed $5,000 or more to the restoration earned the right to have their names on bronze stars out in front of the theater.

Three stars will be installed, commemorating the donations of Cookie Reese, Susan Marie Figone and the Friends of the Cerrito Theater. Their inscriptions will read "Tania Trepanier & Heaven Bent," "Vic and Elsie Figone's Six Bells" and "Friends of the Cerrito Theater."

The installation of the stars was delayed until after August so that the construction project would not interfere with the afternoon matinees that the Cerrito shows during the summer. The project is expected to be undertaken sometime in the next two months.