It's not often that a high school band uniform fundraiser turns into a decades-old community theater. However, such are the origins of the County Seat Theater in Cloquet.
Joel Soukkala has been involved with the theater since high school, first as a volunteer and now as the General Manager. Over the past four decades, the theater has seen change and plenty of growth. "We've got storage now, we got a garage last year that we built for set pieces... now we've got a scene shop," says Soukkala. With 5 full productions each season, as well as summer youth programs and a variety of community events, the theater calendar stays busy.
The next event at the Cloquet-based theater is a performance by Minnesota author and musician Douglas Wood on Friday, November 7th at 7pm. "We're really excited about that," says Soukkala. "PBS reached out to us about that... Always fun to partner with PBS and bring in some new acts."
In early December, the County Seat Theater will close their 2025 season with a radio-style production of It's a Wonderful Life.
For more information about the County Seat Theater, tickets, upcoming shows, and audition information, visit the County Seat Theater website.
You can hear Community Connection every Tuesday and Thursday at 8am on Northland Morning.
