Hidden Lexington: Farish Theater

The Farish Theater, officially The William Stamps Farish Fund Theater,is a newly renovated, state-of-the-art facility in Lexington that many are not  aware of.
It is located on the Central Library’s first floor in the heart of downtown Lexington and offers monthly programming, of which most are free.
Yes, free.  The programming offers something for everyone: theater, dance, live music, film, community events and is also a great place for meetings.
Farish Theater is available for “some of the city’s best prices,” according to the website and offers “affordable” business, nonprofit and government rates.
“We are as state-of-the art as any place in town and the nice thing about us is that we are also pretty inexpensive for most people to rent,” Thom Southerland, coordinator of the Farish Theater said.
The rest of December will offer free holiday kid films on the 20th and 23rd and the Wandering Storytellers on the 30th.
Click here to view the calendar for January.  You will find a foreign film series, kid and adult movies, a jazz concert, documentaries, a play, a presentation,orchestra recitals and more.  All for free or at a very affordable price.
Depending on what time you attend the theater, you should visit The Hub, a coffee shop located in the library next to the theater.  It is open weekday mornings and afternoons and for some special events. It is also available for catering.
This theater has been open since the new main building of the library opened in 1989 and was renovated in 2012 with the help of 500 donors, according to the website.  The donations were led by a $100,000 donation from the William Stamps Farish Fund.
The theater hosted “Filmslang” this year as the sister to the Lexington festival “Boomslang.”  It hosted events that feature local film makers called The Year in Lexington in Film.  It has featured workshops and Kentucky musical artist.  Something is always going on at The Farish Theater.
It truly is a hidden gem.
Said Southerland: “Once (people) discover we are here they get a big kick about knowing they can come see films for free or live music for free.”
The Farish Theater is located at 140 East Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky .  Parking is available for free with a validated parking ticket in the parking garage for two hours.