Old Forge’s Strand Theater. Photo by Dana Armington
Bob Card and Helen Zyma of The Strand Theatre in Old Forge, and Nick Rose of CAP-21 have been working together to raise funds to save The Strand and 10 other North Country theaters before the film industry’s mandatory digital conversion takes place this fall.
They have been working with the Adirondack Film Society and the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) to create a Regional Theater Alliance to help raise awareness and solicit donations to help offset the costs of the conversion.
Through their partnership, a fundraising campaign titled “Go Digital or Go Dark” has been created to help coordinate a community-based campaign as well as an outreach to major donors. ANCA’s foundation sponsors for the campaign are Adirondack Bank and Community Bank.
As part of the campaign, movie posters and donation boxes will be set up at each of the participating theaters. Also, an individualized promotional movie trailer created by filmmakers Aaron Woolf and TJ Brearton will be played in each theater prior to the start of films.
According to Card, the 10 participating theaters collectively need $1.5 million to make all the necessary changes. Through the campaign, theater owners are expected to raise 75 percent of their individual costs with ANCA helping to raise the remaining 25 percent. The ANCA funds will be distributed to the theaters through a series of grants. Continue reading
