Larkspur Business of the Year & 2025 Spirit of Marin Award!

The Larkspur Chamber is excited to share that our very own Lark Theater is the recipient of TWO awards this year - Congratulations! 🎉👏 🏆 The Lark Theater is the 2025 Larkspur Business of the Year & the 2025 recipient of the Spirit of Marin Small Business of the Year Award!

The prestigious Spirit of Marin award, presented by Bank of Marin, celebrates the contributions of local businesses and individuals who embody the Bank’s mission to “do well by doing good.”

A treasured landmark, the Lark Theater, under the leadership of Executive Director/Artistic Director Ellie Mednick, has been recognized for its important role in strengthening the community and helping improve the quality of life.

The Lark Theater is considered a foremost example of a revitalized single-screen/single-stage theater that runs as a community-based film and cultural center, one of only a few across the country still in operation.

The Lark offers a broad range of cultural programming in a friendly and intimate setting. The repertoire includes first-run, independent, foreign and classic films, live broadcasts of opera, theater, ballet, and art. Among this array of options are: Live From The Met in HD opera series, Britain’s National Theatre Live, Art and Architecture in Cinemas, and the On Stage at the Lark series featuring a stellar roster of nationally recognized live comedy acts, jazz and classical music.

Annually the Lark partners with the Mill Valley Film Festival to present world premieres and special events as part of the Festival’s program roster. The Lark also serves as a venue for civic fundraisers for local schools and other non-profit organizations.

History

In 2004, Bernice Baeza and Heidi Hillenbrand, with the help of its dedicated group of volunteers, refurbished the Lark’s entire interior to it’s original 1936 glory, including a renovated lobby, red velvet seats, an art deco mural, new light fixtures, state-of-the-art sound and visual systems, and a revitalized marquee brightly shining as the north end anchor of the historic downtown.

In 2007, donations from more than 800 individuals helped establish the Lark as a permanent business. In 2012 management was taken over by Ellie Mednick. Under her leadership, the Lark has professionalized the staff, overhauled finances, strengthened community relations and customer experience, secured private and public grants, expanded film and live programming, brought the Mill Valley Film Festival to the Lark and recruited a prestigious national film buyer to widen and deepen programming. 

Our success is an example for small towns everywhere to save their rapidly disappearing local historic theaters, and with them, a unique neighborhood experience. Saving the Lark Theater from demolition and restoring it to create a community cultural center has been an extraordinary accomplishment.

Our Mission

To maintain and advance the 1936 Art Deco Lark Theater as a single-screen/single-stage, state-of the-art community film and cultural center with exceptional programming to enhance the artistic, cultural, educational and social life of Marin County and the Bay Area.

The Lark is on the National Historic Register of Places, Winner of the Art Deco Society Preservation Award and is a County of Marin Certified Green Business.

Thank you to The Lark Theater for all you do for our community. We look forward to celebrating with you at the July 4th parade this Friday!

The Lark Theater

549 Magnolia Avenue, Larkspur

https://larktheater.net/