Nathaniel Pearson and Cate Pezzaro hold up the ribbon for their parents, Shepherdstown Opera House owners Harriet and Steve Pearson, along with West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture & History Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, to cut on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — After four long years, the Shepherdstown Opera House (SOH) officially reopened its doors to the public on Saturday afternoon, with a ribbon cutting ceremony and celebration held in honor of the occasion.

For SOH co-owners Steve and Harriet Pearson, being able to be finally open the space for film showings, storytelling concerts and theatrical performances was a joyful experience.

“I’ve talked with so many people in the community who wanted us to come back,” Harriet said. “It’s really been a labor of love led by my husband, Steve, to bring this building back. We appreciate all of the people involved and all of their hard work!”

That labor of love proved to be no small matter, as what initially appeared to be one problem the couple would have to address before opening the opera house’s doors under their new management, turned out to be only one of many.

“As many of you know, we had a little bit of a flood here about five years ago. It took us a while to recover from that. Once we had dried out the building from that, we realized we had a lot of other problems to deal with, like a broken roof — there was a pond big enough, there were ducks living up there!” Steve said, as he opened the celebration inside of the opera house’s theater space. “I want to thank Rockwell Construction — they did a fantastic job of putting this building back together. When I first met one of the old-timers with the company, he said, ‘Are you sure you want to do this? I’m not sure it’s going to stay standing, if you start pulling some of this stuff apart.’ But it did stand, and now it’s going to stand a lot longer!”

A crowd of about 150 community members and guests attended the Shepherdstown Opera House reopening celebration on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

According to Steve, while the opera house has now been reinforced with steel and is, in many ways, “a brand new building,” the building visually appears very much as it did when it was opened as a vaudeville theater in 1910.

“This space — the ceiling, the trim, the walls — that’s what your great-grandparents would have seen. Come back here in another month or two, and we’ll have the seats that they would have sat in, too!” Steve said. “One of the things I’m most proud of, is that I made the building accessible. We redid the whole front sidewalk, lowered the lobby, lowered the ramp right here, so that anyone can get into this building and enjoy a show.”

Giving a sampling of what community members can anticipate in the opera house’s immediate future, representatives from three local arts organizations participated in a panel discussion, moderated by Harriet, regarding how their organizations will be using the building this year. American Conservation Film Festival board member David Pugh noted his organization is holding its annual film festival this weekend at the SOH. Speak Story Series board member Carolyn Rodis said her organization’s storytelling concerts have permanently transitioned from Reynolds Hall to the SOH. Contemporary American Theater Festival Artistic Director Peggy McKowen announced that one of her organization’s six festival plays will be performed in the SOH this July.

According to West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture & History Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, who served as the celebration’s keynote speaker, the reopening of the opera house is a boon for both the Arts and historic preservation.

“I look out at this beautiful building that houses the Arts, that promotes our culture and promotes historic preservation. I want to say ‘thank you’ to Steve and Harriet for doing this,” Reid-Smith said.

A lights and sound display, featuring some of the new technology the Shepherdstown Opera House will be showcasing to future audiences, was part of the reopening celebration on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

From left, Shepherdstown Opera House co-owner Harriet Pearson moderates a panel discussion with American Conservation Film Festival board member David Pugh, Speak Story Series board member Carolyn Rodis and Contemporary American Theater Festival Artistic Director Peggy McKowen, as part of the reopening celebration on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

Reopening celebration attendees sign the event guestbook in the lobby of the Shepherdstown Opera House on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston