It’s back! Yes, the Yreka Community Theater is back, with last Saturday night’s great performance of James Garner’s Johnny Cash Tribute. It was a packed house, with all 304 seats occupied by enthusiastic theatergoers.
Big thanks to all the show’s sponsors, to the City of Yreka, and especially to the Red Scarf Society for the Performing Arts for making it happen.
I personally have been a Johnny Cash fan since I was in high school. I won’t tell you how many years that’s been, other than to say that I was in the class of 1959. The first time I actually saw the “Man in Black” in person was during my college days in Tucson, Arizona, where Johnny Cash performed along with the Tennessee Two. More recently, Ann and I saw him with June Carter Cash at the Siskiyou County Fair, August 8, 1991.
James Garner and his band have been performing their tribute for some eighteen years, with amazing accuracy. Physically big, like Johnny Cash, Garner has his mannerisms and definitely sounds like him. It was a wonderful show. Looking around at the audience, there was a lot of toe-tapping and head-bobbing, with almost every single person acknowledging the rhythm in some manner.
And it was great to see the Community Theater back in action. It’s been six years and twenty-one days between the last concert at the Yreka Community Theater on February 22, 2020, and Saturday night’s show. A long road, or, as Johnny Cash might have said, “One Piece at a Time.”
Constructed in 1976 with much community fund-raising support, the theater at the end of North Oregon Street was a public building that Yreka’s citizens could be proud of.
What initially shut the Community Theater down in 2020 was the Covid pandemic. But that was followed by a series of issues with the aging building: things wearing out, including the roof, the electrical, and the HVAC system. The cost of bringing the building back to life amounted to nearly one million dollars, requiring many resources.
One such resource is the Red Scarf Society for The Performing Arts (RSSPA), now celebrating its 22nd anniversary. A primary objective of this non-profit organization is to support the Yreka Community Theater. Its mission statement declares its goal “to serve as a support group for Yreka’s fifty-year old Community Theater, which is owned by the City of Yreka.”
What contributions has the Red Scarf Society made for the Community Theater? Well, here’s a partial list: The sound system, speakers and sound board. Landscaping. The “Voices of the Siskiyous” boulder project. New siding. Acoustic baffles. New furniture for the lobby. Most of the costs of these projects were funded by grants that RSSPA facilitated in obtaining, but a significant amount was directly raised by RSSPA members.
But that was then; this is now, and I’m very happy to say that the theater’s now back in action thanks to everyone working together! The show and the venue were wonderful! Now let’s look forward to at least another forty-plus years of live performances in the Yreka Community Theater.
Let’s also look forward to the Red Scarf Society’s upcoming editions of its 2026 concert series. Here’s the list:
May 2, Life in the Fast Lane, Eagles Tribute Band.
June 24, Western concert at the Siskiyou County Fair mall.
October 3, Backtrack Vocals, dynamic vocal band based in New York City.
October 24, 50TH ANNIVERSARY of the Yreka Community Theater with the Secret Society Handshake Band.
November 20, Kinga Augustyn, violinist and Alexander Tutunov, pianist.
Check out Red Scarf Society’s website: www.redscarfsociety.net.
2 Comments
Wonderful article. So glad the theater’s back. Thx always to Red Scarf for the many gifts they bring to the community.
We enjoyed the show and newly revamped theater also. Thanks to a lovely gal named Michelle who gifted us tickets which her friends were unable to use We, in turn, paid it forward gifting the ticket cost back to Red Scarf. Nice to see a full house, including some young people! So grateful for Red Scarf’s hard work and commitment to our town.