The new State Theatre and International Bistro, located on Main Street, are hosting a costume ball Wednesday night to give Mississippi State University students and Starkville residents a chance to show off their Halloween costumes.
This will be the first time the theatre has been open to the public in years. Dave Hood, owner of the State Theatre, International Bistro and Daves Dark Horse Tavern, said Halloween was the most appropriate time to reopen the theatre due to events that happened there in 1929.
A vagrant seeking warmth reportedly set fire to the building and died in the blaze, Hood said. There are rumors of a haunting, but there are no confirmed sightings of a ghost or any malevolent, unexplainable occurrences.
Since the time the building burned, many Starkville citizens have enjoyed nights at the State Theatre, according to Hood. The theatre used to have movie screenings that showed films ranging from The Exorcist to Jaws. When it closed as a movie hall in the early 1980s, the building was remodeled for dining, dancing and entertainment. Hood said patrons of the theatre should be able to sense an air of antiquity about it.
The International Bistro is the portion of the State Theatre that serves as the dining room. Hood said that the menu is unlike any other in Starkville with a blend of Caribbean and Mediterranean food. Unlike the Tavern, the Bistro will have no cover charge and a non-smoking section.
Last year at the Dark Horse Tavern, a Halloween costume ball took place as well. This year s ball will be different from last years, the Debutramp Ball, in the sense that there won t be a specific theme.
Last year the costume ball was packed to the gills, Hood said. This year, instead of having a theme, we re leaving it up to everyones imagination.
Daves Tavern is equivalent to the International Bistro and State Theatre in the respect that Hood is not trying to appeal solely to college students, hence the Taverns age requirement of 21. The Theatre s age requirement is 18, but Hood said that residents who remember the old State House might enjoy it the most.
The goal of the theatre is to entertain more than just college students, Hood said. We want to provide everyone in Starkville with a place they can go to enjoy dinner and theatre along with magic shows and occasional concerts.
The entertainment for the Halloween Ball will be the music of The Puerto Rican Rum Drunks.
Hood said he is glad to have the opportunity to be a part of a growing downtown sector.
I bought the building a year ago and didn t think it was going anywhere, Hood said. But now I can feel downtown becoming revitalized, and Im excited to be a part of it.