Arts and entertainment in downtown Atmore

ATMORE, Ala. (WKRG) — Atmore might be a small city but people there say you’d be surprised at how much there is to do and see.

“Just come take a look at Atmore,” The Pride of Atmore Board Chairman Bub Gideons said. “We like to say we have more in Atmore.”

As you explore downtown, beautiful murals painted on shops may catch your eye.

“Different things just for the businesses and just kind of to represent the little things that Atmore has to offer,” Addison Long, interim executive director of Atmore Chamber said.

The ‘Discover Atmore’ mural on the Chamber of Commerce building was the first to be added in 2018, and kicked off the city’s ‘Art Walk.’

The tour takes visitors around the downtown area to see nearly a dozen murals and more than 20 student-designed train art pieces that capture the personality of each business.

If you venture down Main Street, you’ll find a historical gem that continues to entertain people, just like it did 100 years ago.

“The Strand was The Pride of Atmore,” Gideons said. “Back in the day, all of our grandparents and great grandparents and our parents came to the Strand, quite possibly on their first date.”

It was the place to go. That’s why the community rallied to save the theatre after it closed its doors in 2013. It underwent nearly a decade of renovations before reopening last year.

“The Strand is back alive, back in place and looking like she should,” Gideons said.

The Strand is used as a movie theater throughout the year. Parties are also an option, with many using its next door counterpart, the Encore, as a reception hall.

It even offers a computer lab, a flex room used for a variety of classes including Zumba and art for students. There’s also a new recording studio for singers and musicians.

The Strand is a place where thespians can shine on stage.

“A community thrives with the arts. Without the arts, it makes for a boring community,” Co-founder and Vice President of the Greater Escambia Council of the Arts Jerry Janes said.

GECA will sometimes put on shows at the Strand, but it’s at their own theater across the street where people from around the Gulf Coast travel to perform.

“We have people who drive 45 minutes to an hour to be a part of the shows and productions,” Janes said. “Once a production takes place, they’re bringing their friends and family.”

Janes said this year’s season is the group’s busiest ever. He said he’s happy to see his hometown of Atmore and its art thrive.

“We call it community theater, and it is community theater because it’s just not the people that you’re pulling for to be on the stage and to direct the people that’s in the shows. It’s the people that support it,” Janes said.

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