On Wednesday evening, Nov. 6, the Penn Theater was busy, something that would have seemed quite unlikely just a few years ago.

The date, after all, was just a bit before the anniversary of the theater’s first public event in 20 years. But the commitment and vision of many people have helped Butler’s downtown to continue to grow and reenergize.

Wednesday’s event, put on by the nonprofit Downtown Butler, highlighted just how far the city’s heart has come.

“Over the last couple of years, we’ve gotten all of our committees revitalized again, and we’ve gotten things happening downtown and sparked other businesses and groups to do the same,” said Butler Downtown president Audrianna Bly.

Part of the event’s purpose was to honor four award recipients. Volunteer of the Year was won by Amanda Fleming, an executive assistant at Butler County Community College.

Small Business of the Year, went to Vintage Coffeehouse, opened by Peter and Angela Kupas on 209 S. Main St. The Economic Impact award was given to Belleville International, a steel component manufacturer located on East Cunningham Street.

Finally, a special award went to Totalus Cafe, a bubble tea cafe on East Jefferson Street that also organized the Taste of Italy Crawl in August.

Beyond the awards, the event also focused on the future. Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy spoke about the recently completed sale of the Butler Area Sewer Authority to Pennsylvania American Water.

That sale will bring in tens of millions of dollars to invest in the city.

“By investing in all of these various components that make up city life, what we're going to be able to do is make this city more attractive and more marketable,” Dandoy said. “We should be able to look at people and say, ‘Please invest in our downtown area. Come open your small business here.’”

Building on what’s already here, that promises to make an exciting future for the city’s downtown.

— JK