We are here at Panther Creek Arts to produce events: Arts, Recreational, Educational, Delicious, and Inspiring – that offer spirited cooperation from, and lively engagement for, our local community.

Panther Creek Arts in West Fulton embodies both THE HALL upstairs, BITE ME, the occasional café and BITE ME MARKET downstairs. We've renovated downstairs to add an occassional PUB ROOM space. The old-time performance hall upstairs was the genius idea of Ula Mabey, who with her husband owned the general store across the street in the early 1900s. The building was originally built as a granary but has seen life as a firehouse, a church hall, and a community center. An advocate of Community Theater, Ula insisted upon adding not only the stage but also the pump organ, her own instrument, that still occupies its place of honor. It was Ula Mabey who brought theater and music to THE HALL originally and it is Panther Creek Arts that continues in her footsteps. Downstairs at BITE ME, the occasional café, we host dinners before events; annual Turkey Suppers (that carry on the tradition started by the local ladies of the Methodist Church many years ago); dinners that celebrate local seasonal produce and our nearby farms; and take-out food on weekends. Call it farm-to-table, slow-food, seasonal eating; we call it good food and great people. BITE ME MARKET was born out of this same thinking— a place to offer great local goods right here in town. West Fulton has seen musicians of global fame, theater from the Juilliard Drama Department, festivals, delightful dinners, art shows, silent auctions of “very useful items” (e.g., dumpsters), holiday markets of exceptional goods, and circus camps that kids still talk about. All of this brings us inspiration but even more inspiring is what people say about the events at Panther Creek Arts. Resoundingly, this is what we hear: that people feel welcome, are excited by the events, encounter new friends, and come back. Panther Creek Arts is dedicated to bringing in great music, food, theater, and the arts to anyone who can find their way to this tiny hamlet of West Fulton. Be surprised.

A Personal Message From the Artistic Director:

My family drove back into town in 1965, dragging my older teenage siblings back from the brink of a fast life on the beaches of Santa Monica.  An actor (father) and a set designer (mother) took up a life here with their brood of kids.

It turns out that West Fulton has long been a place to return to, odd as that seems for this tiny place on the map.  Many years ago there was a hotel on the corner opposite The Hall at Panther Creek Arts.  It was a way station for travelers and traders, who came through the hamlet again and again.  I imagine the village hall with its stage upstairs saw great use.  The little stream called Panther Creek was dammed up in a few places with water wheels at work adding to the bustle of the place.

Now Panther Creek Arts offers music, theater, art, and food.  We've become a 501(c)(3) and our non-profit status allows donations for tax receipts and also a greater chance of grant monies.

My parents were instrumental in bringing arts to the town. Ruth (set designer, mother of many) had constant visions of revitalizing this small hamlet of West Fulton.  She had an antique store; an herb shop; she hosted flea markets; and once she purchased the contents of the old hotel in Cobleskill.   This last purchase of hers fits in nicely with our own occasional café called, BITE ME, which is housed downstairs.  This certified kitchen is used for community food preserving and canning days so that our local economy has yet another product to offer, just as the small towns of Europe offer their cheeses, pâtés, cured meats, and the like.  BITE ME offers community and private dinners, lamb roasts , and all manner of foods for the enjoyment of gathering.   

John (actor, father) started The Everyman Theater group here a few years before he died. The group lasted many years and provided local actors, directors, and audiences with lasting memories of intense involvement for weeks on end.  There were many plays put up, and as young children we were engaged as bowling pins (Rip Van Winkle), street urchins (Mack the Knife), and general hooligans – no training required. What returns to me often from those times is what a close-knit community we had because of that theater company, the dinners, the music parties. 

And I am inspired.

Cornelia McGiver