Now showing
Fundraising efforts for the second screen at the Red Oak Grand Theatre and other improvements recently hit a major milestone.
At an event on Oct. 14, members of the Red Oak Grand Theatre board, supporters, and community members celebrated the halfway point of the project’s goal with the lighting of the theater’s new marquee. Board member Jeanice Lester said the new marquee was a required piece of the renovation project.
“We tried to use the old awning and marquee, but it was determined it was not safe to support the marquee and the snow load,” said Lester.
The main focus of the renovation project is to expand the Grand and add a second screen, a plan that came into fruition after the building was initially purchased to save the theater, and grew into a plan to give movie patrons more choices.
“We originally bought the building because it shares the wall. After we got it cleaned out, we decided to go for a second screen. We know some of our audience members may not want to go to a kid-oriented film, so by adding a second screen, we can offer an adult-oriented show,” commented Lester. “That doesn’t mean we’ll always show adult-oriented shows on the second screen, but we have the flexibility to do so. Films like “The Mule” had great reviews, but it was rated R, so we couldn’t bring it. Our goal is to tastefully have some adult movies people are interested in that they don’t have to go to the city to see.”
Estimates for the renovation and installation of a second screen came in at $857,645. The fundraising goal is $900,000 to allow for unforeseen construction expenses. Lester said reaching the current milestone will mean more funding opportunities.
“It’s a big project. Now that we’ve reached the halfway point of our fundraising goal, we’re able to go out and apply for a lot of big grants. We already have received the Iowa West grant, and we have quite a few others that we are applying for now. We’ve received donations from a lot of businesses, but we haven’t approached all of them. Once we get our grant dollars and see where we’re at, we’re going to go to the community. Any donation we receive, it all adds up,” said Lester.
Lester added their plan is to be done with all of their fundraising by April or May of 2020, and it will take a year beyond that to begin the major construction. Lester said fundraising efforts will run more smoothly by waiting to begin the project until funding is secured.
“If you do it in stages, you can’t apply for the big grants. We decided as a group to get started and do all the fundraising. We’ve done some minor projects to the building, There’s three roof lines, three stories in the front, two stories, and then one. We have replaced the first two roofs on the adjoining building that was purchased because they were disastrous.”
Once the fundraising goal is hit, patrons can expect to see a major overhaul of the theater’s second building.
“The ticket booth will be in the same area, but everything else will be in the new building. A family restroom will be installed in the current building. We’ve done some framing for the added restrooms in the new side, and we had to fill in the pit,” Lester said.
Because of the amount of work required for the renovations, the price tag for the work is somewhat high.
“The building is a skeleton. The current theater was already a theater when we took it over, so we didn’t have to buy everything. With this building, we had to start from scratch. As an example, a new projector, sound system, and a new screen, is $100,000. HVAC is $100,000. Al, the new electrical and plumbing work is roughly $100,000, so it adds up very quickly. And while we won’t have reclining seats, but we will have cup holders,” said Lester.
The Grand recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, and is run totally by volunteers. Lester commented that the theater has an extensive group of volunteers.
“We’re at over 300 volunteers. We get calls from people saying they don’t get called very often to volunteer, and that’s because we have so many people who enjoy doing it. When I first started, I thought I knew a lot of people in Red Oak, and I quickly discovered I didn’t know as many as I thought I did. The board itself has 20 members. All of the board members have a responsibility.”
Additionally, the theater saves money for the patrons by being a second-run theater.
“Because we aren’t open every day, we are not a first-run theater, so we don’t get the movies right off the bat, which keeps our costs down big time. I understand now why it costs so much for tickets and concessions in the city. They have paid employees, and those movies cost a lot. Our goal is to keep our movies at $2, and there is no reason we can’t. Our only priority is to get the movies out in Red Oak before they go to DVD,” Lester said.
The overall project is a neat one, said Lester, and she and the other members of the Grand Theatre Board and the numerous volunteers are excited to finish it.