Downtown merchants, shoppers and well-wishers from across Beaufort County turned out for the lighting of the Turnage Theater marquee Thursday — a celebration of the theater’s return to business.

Crowd estimates point at close to 200 people filling Main Street as Beaufort County Arts Council Executive Director Joey Toler said a few words of appreciation for the many people, and organizations, who helped pave the way for the arts council to purchase the restored, early 20^th-century theater.

“I was very surprised at the turnout. I had no idea what to expect,” Toler said. “I really thought it was more about the merchants being open on Thursday nights now, but when we started getting phone calls from people asking what they should wear, it made me think we should do something a bit more formal,” he laughed.

The idea for a Turnage toast came from two downtown merchants: Bob Henkel, owner of Inner Banks Artisans’ Center, and Roger Meyland, owner of Grub Brothers Eatery, the theater’s closest neighbors. Meyland and Henkel thought the eventual reopening of the Turnage warranted a community champagne toast.

Downtown merchants had a supply of champagne on hand as Toler led the audience in a countdown to the lighting of the marquee, which has been dark since the theater closed its doors in December 2011, a casualty of ongoing financial difficulties combined with the economy’s downswing. While the sign lit, to the crowd’s delight, its display needs a bit of TLC, Toler said.

“There are a couple of neon tubes that are broken and I think a little moisture has gotten into the mechanism that does the light chasing,” Toler explained. “We’re going to definitely get it fixed. It’s like anything that’s sat on a shelf for two years, it’s going to have a few little tweaks about it.”

In addition to a tune up for the signage, Toler is issuing a community-wide invitation to the Turnage Cleanup Day on Saturday, Oct. 12, as he and arts council staff plan to make the move down Main Street in November.

“If those 200 people who were there last night show up, we’ll get it done in an hour,” Toler laughed.

Toler will be releasing more information about the Turnage Cleanup Day early next week. For more information, visit www.beaufortcountyartscouncil.org.