Thursday, Mar. 16 

Doors – 6:00 PM 

Organ Overture – 6:30 PM 

Film – 7:00 PM 

Tickets - $10

1hr 19min | NR | Documentary | USA 

The Senate Theater is proud to present this encore screening of the locally and lovingly produced documentary, Boblo Boats: A Detroit Ferry Tale, the winner of the Hometown Talent Award and Opening Night Film at the Freep Film Festival. Narrated by local music legend Martha Reeves, the film tells a story of local history and contemporary preservation efforts surrounding the long shuttered Boblo Island amusement park and its ferry boats. With whimsicality and magical realism Boblo Boats: A Detroit Ferry Tale creates a fantastical atmosphere in keeping with the collective memory of that bygone bit of Shangri-La in the Detroit River. 

Synopsis: 

When Ste. Claire and SS Columbia sounded their whistles, every Detroit kid knew it heralded the coming of summer and the magic of ferrying over to nearby Boblo Island Amusement Park. After 85 years of operation, these two sister steamships – the oldest in America - awaken from a deep slumber to find a devoted team of enthusiasts have set out to rescue them from their deteriorating state. SS Columbia has been whisked away to New York while Claire's fate rests in the hands of an unlikely band of heroes: a doctor, a psychic, and an amusement park fanatic. Martha Reeves, the Motown legend with a lilting voice, narrates this revelatory fable-doc that’s full of heart and hard truths about a challenging restoration, the iconic amusement park’s exciting yet whitewashed history, and the intoxicating ways that nostalgia can inspire and blur memories. 

Go to Bobloboatdetroit.com for more information on the Ste. Claire restoration efforts. 

Check out bobloboatsfilm.com to learn more about this remarkable Detroit-centric film. 

The Senate Theater and The Detroit Theater Organ Society is supported by The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and The National Endowment for the Arts.