🌙 Journey Through the Veil 4: Spirited Tales of Pekin’s Past 👻

When the veil grows thin… the spirits will speak.

Step into Pekin’s haunted history as true tales and restless souls rise from the past. Hear the tragic story of John Strope, the beloved bridge tender whose ghostly lantern still flickers on the riverfront. Relive the chilling night the Steamship Columbia went down near Wesley City, its lost passengers still crying out from the dark waters. Walk back to 1834, when cholera swept through Pekin in waves of terror, leaving wagons of the dead rumbling through the night.

Each spirit shares a piece of Pekin’s story—sometimes tragic, sometimes violent, always unforgettable.

📅 October 10–12
📍 Downtown Pekin

Whether you come for the history or the hauntings, you’ll leave with chills running down your spine. Gather your courage. Step through the veil… if you dare.

Artistic Community Theatre of Pekin, or ACT, is a nonprofit community theatre dedicated to bringing quality live performances to our region. Our story began in 1981 as the Campus Players in Bartonville. By the mid-1980s, we moved to Pekin and adopted the name ACT, marking the start of a new chapter in our journey.

Over the years, ACT has called several venues home, from The Pavilion to the Pekin Mall. When the mall closed, we faced the challenge of finding a permanent space, even joining forces with Morton for a time as MPACT. Eventually, we returned to Pekin as a true vagabond troupe, performing wherever we could—churches, schools, libraries, parks—sharing our love of theatre with the community.

Then came COVID, and the future of live performance felt uncertain. But thanks to Nona and Jim Buster, who purchased and completely transformed an old downtown bakery, ACT now has a stunning cabaret-style theatre. From top to bottom, the space was renovated to create a welcoming, professional home for our productions.

As we kick off our 4th season in this beautiful new venue, ACT continues to celebrate community, creativity, and the magic of live theatre—bringing stories to life for audiences of all ages.