June 2020: Newsletter #2
Putting the FUN in Fundraising
The Matching Grant
As you may have heard, last year the Cailloux Foundation awarded us a substantial matching grant challenge for $500,000. We are excited to announce that we are VERY close to meeting this goal!
But We Sure Ain’t Done Yet
We are $250,000 away from covering our construction costs and then we’ll move on to capital expenses (like our digital cinema package that will allow us to project classic films on the big screen) and operating expenses. Our team is working hard to get the theatre open, but we still need some help. Luckily, there’s a variety of ways you can get involved! Check out opportunities to support us on our website or reply to this email for more information.
Iconic Blade Upgrades Water St. View to Guadalupe!
The Arcadia sign many of us fondly remember has been restored and given an awesome, new home at Arcadia Live. It is now hanging on the back corner of the building, overlooking the Guadalupe River from one side and our newly developed (and yet to be officially named) boardwalk alley from the other. We’re hosting a celebration for our Iconic Blade’s return! It’ll take place in the boardwalk alley and on our brand new deck at Arcadia Live. The main event will be lighting up our Iconic Blade for the first time this century. The party will be held later this month, exclusively for our Capital Campaign donors who have supported us at the $1,000 level and above. Hold on though! It’s not too late to get an invite! As was mentioned above, we’re still fundraising and we’ll happily add you to the list if you donate below. Hooray!
Secure your invite!
Digging up Memories
We recently sent out on a plea on social media for Arcadia Theatre memorabilia and WOW! has the Kerrville community delivered so far!
Mindy Nicholson Wendele brought in a ledger that details films played each week at the Rialto and Arcadia Theatres from January 1947 to March 1954. It’s a treasure trove of classic film ideas and has helped us better establish the timeline of the Arcadia’s previous renovations. We even learned when the Iconic Blade (the Arcadia sign that now overlooks the Guadalupe River) was debuted: November 18, 1948! Our team has had a wonderful time digging through its pages and we can’t wait to research some of the movies that were listed.
Mindy also shared with us a program cover from a preliminary Miss Texas beauty pageant that was held in the Arcadia in 1957. Unfortunately, the back page listing contestants has been lost to time, so, if you know anyone that might’ve competed in a beauty pageant in the Arcadia, please send them our way!
Kathi Kuykendall donated an Arcadia Theatre movie card from 1957 that really made us think about the logistics of running a movie theatre before the internet existed. This card lists what films would be featured at the Arcadia Theatre for the week and, according to the handwriting on the back, thousands were mailed out to potential patrons each week.
Julius Neunhoffer shared Kerrville Mountain Sun newspaper articles and pictures from 1929 and taught us more about the history of the building. According to his findings, the Arcadia Theatre, which originally opened in 1926, was remodeled only three years later in 1929. Why, you ask? Because of the introduction of the technology of “talkie” films! The ceiling had to be raised to accommodate the new required sound systems. You can actually see this addition in the theatre with our exposed brick walls. Above the stage, the ceiling is higher and you can tell that two different types of bricks were used!
So, what did we learn from these items? Mostly that we’ve still got a lot to learn about this unique venue and that one of the best ways to do that is through engaging with our fellow Arcadia fans around town! That being said… got any Arcadia Theatre relics you’d like to show off? If so, we’d love to see them and chat history! We plan to display memorabilia and historic photos related to our locale at Arcadia Live. We’re looking forward to sharing what we’ve found so far with the Kerrville community.
Construction Update
So much progress was made in May! Some of the highlights were knocking holes in the back wall to install glass garage doors, the Iconic Blade’s installation, and the foundation of the boardwalk alley and back deck being built. Check out our facebook for more on these moments!
Renovations and construction will be completed by mid-July, if not sooner. We won’t be open to the public immediately, but we’ll have availability to rent the venue for private parties starting around August. We plan to have a grand opening in early October and will release details on this in the near future!
That’s a wrap!
Thank you for reading our eNewsletter! We sincerely hope you enjoyed it and that you’re looking forward to the Arcadia Live’s July 2020 Newsletter! Consider checking us out on instagram and facebook while you wait~
Rock on,
The Arcadia Live team
Katie, Michael, & Anne