Christine Delaney is the executive director of the Tibbits Opera Foundation and Arts Council, the nonprofit that owns and operates the Tibbits Opera House, built in 1882. She has held the position since 2001, though her history with Tibbits extends more than 30 years, giving her a thorough understanding of the progress and growth of the theatre operations as well as an in-depth appreciation for its restoration journey. She oversees the administration, daily operations, general fundraising, grant writing, and programming. Under her leadership (to date) $4.3 million has been raised and invested in the restoration of the historic theatre. She served as owner representative through two major construction projects including the $1.2 million award-winning transformation of the theatre's French Second Empire façade.
Tibbits Opera House is a 500-seat theatre located in the rural community of Coldwater, Michigan. With a county population of only 44,000, Tibbits is the only fully-equipped theatre and professional arts organization in the county. The programming includes self-produced professional summer stock as well as a children's theatre program, professional touring artists, live performance programming for area schools, an art gallery and visual arts events, and a classic film series. The theatre is also a rental facility for approximately 20 area organizations and schools. In 2017 the theatre was occupied 257 days with 92 events.
Originally from Detroit, Christine moved to Coldwater to work at Tibbits assisting with marketing and publicity. She then worked for a commercial printer for many years helping area businesses with their printing and marketing needs before becoming Tibbits Executive Director. Christine graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science in Arts Management with emphasis in marketing and written communications.