Saturday November 22nd Strand Friend Dr. Paul Inlow spent his birthday evening with us.   Happy Birthday from the Strand Family!

The Dixie Kats and the Blue River Community Choir will perform a concert on the Strand stage.   The concert starts at 7:00pm on November 22, 2008.   Tickets are $5 at the door.

A hearty bunch of Strand volunteers under the leadership of Cindy H. gathered in the frigid November weather to represent the Strand at the 2008 Shelbyville Holiday Parade.   There was candy for the kids, and flyers for the parents.   The group walked behind the pied piper at the Calliope advertising our free holiday movie.

Our movie was a success.  A small, but brave crowd came for the evenings entertainment.   We planned to get our films going before the end of the first year of operation.  We made it with 6 weeks to spare!

Above photo courtesy of Jeff Sponsel

The Calliope lead the way to the Strand!

Above photo courtesty of Jeff Sponsel

Strand friend Linda S. helps line up the parade floats:

The Chamber of Commerce helps us advertise our Free Movie:

Santa toots the notes and the crowd follows:

The Strand Theatre salutes our friends at the Shelby Arts Guild Association for the ribbon cutting on their new gallery.   The Gallery is located next to Sander’s Jewelry (and Strand supporter) on North Harrison Street.   The gallery features works by local artists.   The Strand wishes all the best for their success.

We also salute our friends and partners at the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce for their participation in this important event on our community.

The Gallery opened at noon on Friday November 21, 2008.

Banquet facility to host concert to benefit Strand

B.J. Fairchild-Newman
Staff Writer

Friday, November 21, 2008

An established Shelbyville entertainment venue – Occasions Banquet Hall – is planning an evening of fun and dancing to benefit a fledgling local entertainment option, the Strand Theatre.

Martin Zinser, owner of Occasions, along with his wife, Tami, said he is very impressed with the renovation work that David Finkel and his army of volunteers have accomplished at the former movie theater, and he decided that he wanted to hold an event to raise money for the cash-strapped Strand.

The popular band The Flying Toasters will perform at Occasions, 415 E. Hendricks St., at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday and again on Dec. 20. Zinser and The Flying Toasters plan to donate $3 to the Strand from each $10 cover charge that patrons will pay to attend.

"Occasions and The Flying Toasters both want to help support live performances in Shelbyville and Shelby County," Zinser said, "and the Strand is bringing lots of live entertainment to the community."

For people wanting to attend the dance with a group of friends, reserved tables are available that will seat up to 10 people for $180. Zinser said many of the tables for Wednesday night have been reserved, but plenty of tables are available to be reserved for the Dec. 20 event.

Those who reserve tables will enjoy hors d’oeuvres, but everyone will have bowls of pretzels and other snacks to enjoy with drinks purchased from the cash bar.

Patrons will find a few nonreserved tables and plenty of room to sit or stand and talk when taking a dancing break.

"People are already calling for December, so I suggest that those who want to attend either date call right away," Zinser said.

Tickets are available at Occasions, or customers may call (317) 421-0820 for reservations. Credit cards can’t be used for the event; only cash and checks will be accepted.

"Since it is a fundraiser," Zinser said, "I can’t afford to pay the fee for the credit cards in addition to donating part of the ticket price."

Room to move

The Flying Toasters have performed at Occasions twice before, and Zinser said many of those who attend prefer the nonsmoking atmosphere at Occasions as well as the roominess of the facility instead of a crowded, smoky bar.

"We have that large lobby area where people can walk around if they want a break from the dancing and music," Zinser said. "People can’t enjoy themselves when they are all crammed in together."

Both of the previous bookings were a big success, and Zinser said Occasions would like to plan more performance events in the banquet hall. He is interested in finding comedians and other performers who would like to use the venue.

Zinser said he often receives calls from groups interested in holding a fundraiser, but he encourages them to try to come up with a unique idea. He said civic groups are telling him that it is getting harder and harder to raise money.

"People need to feel like they are getting something for their money," Zinser said, "but whether a fundraiser makes money really depends on how hard the people who are putting it on are willing to work."

Occasions frequently is used as the setting for various civic events, fundraisers, parties, reunions and large company meetings, but wedding receptions make up more than half of his Saturday night bookings each year.

Eager to grow

Coincidentally, his manager at Occasions, Cathy Caito, runs a wedding cake business called Cakes by Cathy out of the restaurant. The two businesses are totally separate, but each helps the other to find additional business.

Zinser said the banquet business is just as susceptible to a weakening economy as any other business. Although his bookings are strong through the end of the year, he is eying January and February with trepidation. Normally, Occasions already has recorded numerous reservations for the upcoming year, but bookings are definitely down.

Zinser said the recent opening of Maxim Events and the splashy permanent casino that opens in the spring make for a competitive environment. He said he remembers how different the restaurant and banquet landscape was in Shelbyville when he was persuaded to open Occasions by Mike Dellinger from the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and former Mayor Betsy Stephen.

"They came to me and told me that the city really needed a large banquet hall," Zinser said, "and at that time, there really wasn’t a good place in town to hold big parties and meetings."

When he was approached, Zinser was running The Chicken Inn on East Hendricks Street, so he decided to make the investment and bought the former Parrish Lumber Co. site in 1997 with plans to turn it into a banquet facility.

"We needed a nice place to have events, and I was the one to make a commitment and go out on a limb," Zinser said of his 14,000-square-foot building.

However, shortly after opening Occasions in 2002, other restaurants continued to open in Shelbyville, and the availability of the large clubhouse area at Indiana Downs also provided new competition.

"It is great to have lots of different choices," Zinser said, "but the town will have to grow to support all these different banquet facilities."

The Strand Theatre of Shelbyville, Inc. will show it’s very first film in the renovated Strand Theatre on Friday November 21, 2008.   Santa Claus Conquers the Martians will be shown immediately following the Shelbyville Downtown Holiday Parade.   Please come join us for this very special event.   Admission is FREE

The Strand Theatre of Shelbyville, Inc. will show it’s very first film in the renovated Strand Theatre on Friday November 21, 2008.   Santa Claus Conquers the Martians will be shown immediately following the Shelbyville Downtown Holiday Parade.   Please come join us for this very special event.   Admission is FREE

 We have been busy! So much so, that a few email slipped by us. To make up for the missing information, you get a double dose today! The Strand has taught us one thing….it is full of surprises. We, being slow learners, have finally caught on, so WE have a surprise for you.

As you recall, an anonymous donor paid for our 20′ x 30′ retractable movie screen. Since it was installed in August, we have yet to use the screen. That is about to change… On Friday Night November 21, 2008 the Strand will host a FREE Holiday Movie immediately after the Downtown Holiday Parade. Come to the Strand and enjoy a Christmas Classic (almost) from years past.

You see, we are not set up with the film studios yet, so we have to show a film that is in public domain. We, or shall I say Joey G., has done his due diligence, and according to the Library of Congress, the 1964 family Christmas film "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians". Now I know what you’re thinking, but hey…its free and its what we can get going quickly! So come to the Strand after the parade and enjoy an 81 minute surprise. I know it will be fun. Look forward to seeing you there!

If you are at the parade, follow the Calliope with the "Follow Me to the Strand" sign on the back. We will have Holiday music on the Calliope in front of the theatre before the movie. Thanks to Bob S. the theatre will be toasty warm.

If you are not up to "Santa Claus does whatever to the Martians", then you are still in luck. On Saturday night November 22nd we have 2 talented groups in for a concert. The Dixie Kats Dixieland Band will be joined by the Blue River Community Choir for an evening of music starting at 7:00pm. The cost is $5 at the door and all proceeds are donated directly to the Strand. The music will be great! Thank you to Kenny Bowman and Cindy Leahy for producing this exciting concert.

Now lets talk a little about the behind the scenes stuff at the theatre. I just spoke about the need to show a public domain film. That has to do with the rights to show the film. The music that is performed on our stage follows similar rules. 

The Strand passed a major milestone. We are all amateurs trying to do the best we can do. One of the things that we discovered we needed was a license for the music performed at the Strand. This isn’t an easy thing to figure out, as I quickly learned. With the help of our friends at the library of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, we were pointed in the right direction. The Strand needed to acquire a facility license from two groups. BMI, which stands for Broadcast Music, Inc. and ASCAP which is the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

With much work and research, we were finally able to apply and receive our licenses for all Strand performances. The composers of the music we play will get their rightful royalties from our venue. The Strand will submit a report quarterly to each organization that tells them of all our performances. This will include our Gross Ticket Revenue. Even if the event is free, we are still obligated to pay the royalties. While the amount will not be cheap, it is certainly gladly paid by our organization. We strive to do things correctly. This is one more thing that puts us on the path to success. Thank you to Tom at BMI and Jason at ASCAP for their assistance in the application process. Soon you will see the logos of both organizations mounted in our lobby. Next time you visit, you will know that the Strand is paying our fair share, and that we have a legal performance. With luck we will write them a really big check each quarter. The bigger their check, the more attendance we have! Good for us.

The Strand has hosted some fun events so far this month. We opened up the month with Rules of Seven. They put on a great show. The New Life United Methodist Church performed their "Spirit of America" in honor of the Veteran’s Day holiday. We also had the Snowflake Princess Contest at the Strand. It was a pleasure seeing these young girls on stage being polite and articulate as they answered the questions from the Emcee. We have a couple of pictures posted on our web site of the event. Finally we just finished a memorial service sponsored by Freeman Family Funeral Homes. This event honored those who passed away throughout the year. It was well attended and very touching.

This upcoming Thanksgiving week will be fun for the Strand Family. Martin Zinser at Occasions contacted us and expressed an interest in helping our project. He is donated a portion of the proceeds from the upcoming Flying Toasters party at Occasions. They will be playing on Wednesday November 26, 2008. The tickets are $10 and the band will start at 9:30. We believe strongly that the mission of the Strand is to promote the arts. If people are hearing live performances, we are successful. The bands that play Occasions certainly fit that bill. Please help support the Strand by attending this fun event. Thank you Martin for your help with our project! Not to be outdone, he has scheduled ANOTHER evening on Saturday December 20, 2008. Hopefully you can make it to both!

Now that we have something for you to do before you dirty all the dishes, we also have something for you after you have everything cleaned! On Friday November 28, 2008 8:00pm Smashed Productions is once again putting on a great show at the Strand. The Theatre will be hosting The Time Bandits a British Invasion cover band. If you like early and mid 60’s rock and roll, the Strand will be the place to be! Tickets are $7 at the door with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Strand! Joey G. has told me we have already pre-sold 170+ tickets. It will be fun. I look forward to hearing the early Beatles music. The dance floor will be up and the place ready to go!

Saturday leftovers won’t get you down this year, because we have you covered on Saturday night too! Popular regional bands Drop Claw and Faded Daze will be playing the Strand on Saturday November 29, 2008 at 8:00pm. Tickets are $7 with all proceeds to benefit the Strand. Have some fun and join us from great live entertainment.

Please check our web site for all our upcoming events www.strand-theatre-shelbyville.org As you can tell we are quite busy. We would love to have more volunteers help with our shows. If you are interested, please contact Rhonda Schwegman at 398-6631. 

As always, thank you for all your support. We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event.