ORU Spotlight: Chatfield Center for the Arts

The Ghost Light Lounge is a fun new place where people of all ages can enjoy free entertainment at Chatfield’s Center
for the Arts. Beginning in the fall of 2024, the Center for the Arts opened Ghost Light Lounge, which includes a bar where patrons can sip on signature cocktails, mocktails, beer, wine, soda, or water in an intimate setting.

They regularly feature live entertainment on Thursday and/or Friday nights. To assist the Center for the Arts with securing resident musicians for the Ghost Light Lounge, a $1,000 Operation Round Up (ORU) grant was issued through People’s Energy Cooperative.

“I would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to the Operation Round Up participants who made this grant possible,” says Chatfield Center for the Arts Executive Director Betsy Koehnen.

This grant is an example of how the Cooperative’s ORU program supports area organizations focusing on community enrichment and the well-being of the people who live here. The ORU funds will help pay area artists who will perform at the free Ghost Light Lounge events through May 2026.

Koehnen says the community response to past performances has been extremely positive. “The favorite is live music. We’ve had our largest groups the nights we’ve had live music,” she comments. “We also have strong groups that come for storytelling, open mic nights, and poetry reading.”

“Regardless of the type of entertainment, free entertainment that is not in a bar-like setting is hard to find,” Koehnen continues. “Here, you’re not competing with any other noise or activities. It’s a nice intimate venue.”

Chatfield Center for the Arts is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to fostering creativity, diversity, and cultural expression through theatre, dance, visual art, and more. The vision of the organization is to create a community where the arts are accessible to everyone, regardless of background, ability, or financial means.