The outpouring of support for the Star Cinema in Sidney has been tremendous — the fundraising goal of $200,000 is already half-way complete, and in only a few months of the campaign.
An afternoon of music in Beacon Park was well attended, which helped push the effort to help the owners of the movie theatre renovate and upgrade the facility, to its current fundraising mark.
While people have been generous, we hope that they do remember they are donating their hard-earned dollars to a private business.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
We just hope that people have their eyes open about where the money is going and what might happen to those dollars in the event of a worst-case scenario.
Communities up and down the Island who do not have a cinema to call their own often lament its loss and call for new ones to come along.
Yet, these are private enterprises, not public ones. A municipality isn’t going to be buildng a publicly-funded theatre any time soon.
Pressures on theatres from larger facilites and online movies make it a difficult investment these days.
People do, however, still love going to the movies and it’s obvious Sidney residents don’t hold a bleak outlook on the future of their theatre. In fact, they seem downright bullish on the whole thing, and this bodes well.
Plenty of folks are willing to not only shell out cash for the tickets and popcorn — but are also willing to make donations of money and/or time to keep their local theatre open.
It’s good news for residents and local businesses.
People believe in their community and what it offers, and are willing to put their money where their mouth is.