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              It will be Kern County on the big screen as “The House with Three Lives” and “Wild West Country: The Lure of Gold” premier for a one night only screening at the majestic Fox Theatre in Bakersfield beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 1. Proceeds from the $10 per person, nonprofit fundraiser will be used for the ongoing preservation of the historic J.J. Lopez House at the Kern County Museum. Tickets can be purchased at http://vallitix.rdln.com or by calling (661) 322-5200.

Presented by the museum and Kern River Valley Historical Society, the event will even have a 19th Century feel outside with horses and “Wild West Country…” actors in period attire greeting visitors, along with members of the pioneer Lopez, Coppock, Hill, Rankin and Powers families.

            “The House with Three Lives” is a 30-minute documentary detailing the history and preservation of the house built in downtown Bakersfield by Spanish immigrant and Tejon Ranch Manager J.J. Lopez in 1906. It became the home for Otis Coppock, who moved it to Rosedale Highway and Calloway Road in 1953, and later the Hill family that purchased it in the 1960s.

            Inspired by the late Bob Powers’ books, “Wild West Country…” is a 90-minute docudrama about the county’s South Sierra region, featuring Joseph Walker’s discovery of the pass that bears his name in 1834 through the Kern River Gold Rush and the establishment of gold camp, Whiskey Flat — now known as Kernville.

            The films were produced by veteran filmmaker Chuck Barbee, whose credits include work on the Peabody Award network series “Hot Dog” and Emmy Award winner “Night Court.”

            For more information, please call Heather Fowler, Kern County Museum Foundation executive director, at (661) 852-5020.