Since 2011, a group of business and community leaders from Watauga County, led by John Cooper, Founder of Mast General Store, conducted a capital campaign to raise support for the purchase, renovation, and restoration of the 1930’s-era Appalachian Theatre on King Street in Downtown Boone. The theatre has a rich, colorful history but was shuttered and stripped at the center of a rapidly-growing, vibrant downtown area in 2011.

The Appalachian Theatre of the High Country (ATHC) was established in 2012 to operate exclusively for charitable, cultural, artistic, historic or educational non-profit purposes. More specifically, to renovate, restore, preserve, operate, program and manage the Appalachian Theatre for the benefit and enjoyment of both residents and visitors to the High Country region of North Carolina.

The intent was to renovate and reopen the Appalachian Theatre to serve as a hub for entertainment in Downtown Boone and the High Country and to provide programming options for residents, visitors and tourists in our corner of Western North Carolina. In 2019, it reopened. Restored to its original Art Deco brilliance, the theatre hosts a variety of events including lectures, meetings, film series, live concerts, theatre performances, and dance productions. With 629 seats and a 1,600 square foot community room accommodating up to 113 patrons, the venue hosts small and mid-sized performing arts events.

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Appalachian Theatre of the High Country is to provide a quality venue for a variety of artistic genres; to contribute to the region by promoting and strengthening the area’s unique cultural identity and creative history; to enhance business in downtown Boone and the High Country; to provide a cultural hub for the area; and to find new life for a historic building while maintaining its financial sustainability and maximizing its economic impact.