ShelbyIdol returned to the Strand Theatre on Saturday June 26, 2010 for the first of three sessions.    The performance by the contestants was done a cappella to a full house.

The MC of the evening was the SCUFFY Executive Director Arthur Spriggs.   The talent on stage was a wonderful representation the young performers in Shelby County.

For the results of this round of competition, please visit the Energy2Action, LLC web site at  http://www.energy2action.com/SIfinalists.html

The next round of competition is on July 10, 2010 at 7:00 pm.

On Friday June 25, 2010 the Strand scooped its first batch of ice produced inside the theatre.    The process began in August 2009 when the Strand was able to acquire an almost new ice machine at a greatly reduced cost.   The machine is capable of producing 300# of ice per day.

The Strand has been unable to use the machine because we did not have the electrical capacity in our old electrical system to sustain the load.   This past week Steve and Darin of Steve Dennis Electric ran new circuits from the upgraded 400 amp panel under the stage.   These new wires ran the entire length of the building west to east to feed the ice machine.

With the electrical work complete, Ricky Rich installed the nessecary plumbing, water filtration and drainage systems to make the machine operational.   After several test batches and a thorough cleaning, the machine was ready for use.

The show on June 25th was the first where we did not have to buy ice.   Below the coordinator of Strand Volunteers, Rhonda Schwegman, scoops the first batch.

Muthaship played a concert at the Strand Theatre on June 25, 2010.    The energetic 5 piece group played to full sets to an enthusiastic audience.

In our Weekly Emails we discuss have discussed our electrical upgrade many times.   Here is the primary reason for the concern……Frankenstein & Son of Frankenstein.    We are pleased to report that Son of Frankenstein now lives at Pettit’s Recycling.

The Blue River Community Foundation held its annual meeting at the Strand Theatre on June 23, 2010.   During this event, the Foundation’s President Phil Brown, discussed the exciting work done by the Foundation. 

Susan Furgeson, BRCF Executive Director gave a presentation of the grants and finances of the past year.    The entire Shelby County community should be proud of the accomplishments of the Blue River Community Foundation.   The Strand salutes their efforts!

The theatre has been hopping with activity this past week.   We are working hard on upgrades so we are prepared for the shows ahead.   The Shelby County Players will be using the Strand extensively in the next year, and these changes will be especially helpful for them.   Before we get to some of the changes, we would like to mention two very humorous things that happened recently.
First, we have arrived!   In a performance a few weeks ago, someone was outside the theatre scalping a ticket.   We took this as a badge of honor.  The person was successful scalping their ticket.   It would be nice if we sold out every show…at least the scalpers would like that.

Second was a practical joke by someone that indirectly affected the Strand.   The City of Shelbyville has beautiful flower pots throughout the downtown area.  The Strand is fortunate to have 2 of these pots in front of the theatre.   They always look great.   A few weeks ago one of our volunteers noticed a new plant sprouting above the flowers.   It was corn!    We also noticed about a dozen of the pots had stalks of corn.   After several days, and lots of rain, the corn grew bigger and bigger.    Whoever did this had a great sense of humor.   Alas, this week we found that someone “harvested” the rouge plants out of the flower mix.   We were looking forward to the corn as high as an elephant’s eye, touching all the way up to the “marquee”.     By the way, we didn’t do it. 

The Strand is continuing the renovation of the theatre.   (warning, heavy duty tech talk ahead).    This past week continued the work that was started last week.  First was a maintenance item that caught us off guard.   We have had an alarm fault in one of the back doors.   Steve Dennis, who is the alarm guru, figured it out this week.   The door in question in a very old wood door that desperately needs replaced.   It exits into the alley behind the theatre.   When Steve was working on the electrical system, he went to exit this door.   It wouldn’t budge.   It took Steve, Darin plus Strand volunteers Bob S. and David F. to pound the door open.   As soon as it opened, Steve found the problem with the alarm switch.  Due to the vast amount of rain and the very high heat, the door swelled shut and moved the alarm switch.   Bob S. brought his power planar to the rescue and problem solved. 

The electrical work has been proceeding steadily.  More circuits have been moved off of our Frankenstein switch and onto our new panel.   The lights above the stage were tied to the new power.   This wasn’t as easy as it seemed.   Those circuits ran from above the stage to the Men’s restroom and back.   Now they are an efficient run from our new panel.   All the outlets that we are installing are single circuit too.   This will help us avoid problems during shows.   

The pipe that fed Son of Frankenstein (which bit the dust last week) ran the length of the theatre in the tunnel.   This was never secured and just flopped around.  It was a very heavy 1-1/2″ threaded pipe.   That is now gone.    Inside that pipe was lots of old wire.  Thanks to our friends at Pettit’s, the Strand was able to recycle $138 worth of metals this week.   Now that the old pipe is out of the way, we have the room to install new things.   One of the new things was a request from sound guru Ron B.   He requested an outlet in the center of the balcony.   This isn’t as easy as it sounds, but it was installed.   This will allow Ron some flexibility with things that will be handy in the future.   It will also be nice for people who film from the balcony, they will have power that is right where they need it.

The most important circuit needed was run this week.   It is to the new ice machine.   While Steve and Darin were at it, they also moved the popcorn machine to the new service too!   That is a big deal, since we could not use the popcorn machine when the stage lights were on!   That is now a thing of the past.     We will talk about the plumbing work next week….all exciting improvements.

This past week we hosted the Blue River Community Foundation annual meeting.  The BRCF has been a wonderful partner for the Strand.   We strongly encourage everyone to support our local Foundation.   

Friday night MUTHASHIP will perform at the Strand.   The performance starts at 8:00pm.   Tickets are $7.00.  

Saturday night SHELBY IDOL returns from the first round of Semi-Final competition.   The performance starts at 7:00pm.   Tickets are $3.00

Thanks for all the support.   The Strand is proud to be able to be an option for entertainment and enhance the quality of life in our community.

First off, we need to mention that we had to cancel “The Godfather”.  Sometimes things just don’t work out.   This was the case with this event.   We regret we had to cancel, but there was no other viable option left to us.   We still have an exciting event coming up.   This Sunday June 20th (yes, that would be Father’s Day), you can take Dad out for a cheap date…..The Shelby Community Band Summer Concert.   The downbeat is at 2:00 pm and admission is FREE.   The community band performs 4 times per year at the Strand and they are always very entertaining concerts.   Please show your support and come hear the band at the Strand.   

We have so much going on, we would hate to clog your inbox with the Tolstoy text, but this week we’ll condense a few things down so you are in the know.   We need to discuss a little power (warning, tech talk ahead).   As all you regular readers know, the Strand has had a power struggle since day one.   Our power issues are with the electrical type power.   We have too little some places, and plenty others.   This week we had great progress on our overall plan for the complete upgrade of our electrical system.  

The Strand will soon be on a single service entrance with 120/240 4 wire 3 phase.   Until that occurs, we still are running on two separate single phase drops, and two different 3 phase drops.  Basically one set feeds the back of the theatre (by the alley), the other set feeds the front of the theatre (by Harrison St.).    The panel at the front of the theatre is the original.   Now think about it….the Strand was built in 1916…..the panel was original…..wow, it is 94 years old!     Our electrician Steve Dennis has dubbed it our Frankenstein switch.   There are pictures of this bad boy on our web site.   It isn’t a pretty site.   To get rid of it is the process we are doing now.

First off we had to remove all the circuits feeding from the Frankenstein switch to the stage area.  At the stage these wires met at another panel (you guessed it, Son of Frankenstein).   Steve had been slowly working the plan to get everything rerouted so we can remove Son of Frankenstein.   This week it was finally put to rest.   Our furnaces have been operating from electricity that entered the theatre over the concession area on the south wall, went over to the middle of the theatre, down the wall 2 stories, into the basement, through the tunnel, up the tunnel under the concrete, over to the north side of the theatre back stage and to this electrical box, then up to the on stage furnaces.     Now it is gone!   All those circuits are fed from our new 400 amp panel under the stage.   This is a big improvement.   We now have separate circuits for our furnaces, emergency lights, floor lights and all sorts of things.   It also lowered our load on the original panel.   Frankenstein, the clock is ticking.

That is not the only work that was done at the theatre.   The Strand was able to re-open because Steve Dennis installed our fire alarm system.   This is his main business.  The Strand is the beneficiary of his work not only with the alarm, but also the security video, real-time security video feed, security system and a whole bunch of other things.   Steve also installs this handy gadget on cars that allows someone to track that vehicle via the internet.   All the Strand volunteers with teenagers are looking at that one….but back to the alarm (even if Ron B. wants that on our microphones).   We had a major upgrade in our alarm system this week.  All the components were checked and certified.   There are quite a few smoke detectors and strobe in the theatre, so this is no small feat…..thank you Steve and Darin.

Not wanting to be left out of the fun, we had plumbing work done too.   This was courtesy of Indiana-American Water Company.   They installed a new water main and meters for everyone in our block, including the Strand.   Strand friend Rick R. was contracted by the water company to remove our old water main, and install the new feed.  Along with this was the much needed new ball valve main shut-off.   Should we ever have a leak, the easiest and quickest thing for any volunteer to do is to just turn this valve and shut the water off.   This is a big improvement and we are thrilled to be included by the water company in this work.

We had a real spirit lifter this week.   The Strand received a call from someone asking if we still needed tables.   We said “yes we did”.   They asked how much and we said that the 60″ round tables that we need were $100 each.   Sure enough this week we were informed by the Blue River Community Foundation that we received a donation of $200 with the instructions to “go buy 2 tables.”    We live in a GREAT community.   Thank you to the donor for making that possible.

The rest of the month has the following:

• Sun  June 20th    2:00pm           Shelby Community Band      FREE
• Wed June 23rd   6:00pm           Blue River Community Foundation Annual     Meeting      RSVP 317-392-7955
• Fri    June 25th    8:00pm  Muthaship – Rock Concert            $7.00
• Sat   June 26th    7:00pm  Shelby Idol First Round                 $3.00

We look forward to seeing you at the theatre.   We appreciate your support.   Stop in and say “hello”.

GODFATHER – CANCELLED

The Strand regrets to announce that we must cancel the showing of The Godfather for our Dinner and a Movie scheduled for Friday June 18, 2010.

If you purchased tickets, you may receive a refund by coming to the Strand at 6:30 on Friday June 18, 2010 or calling 317-364-1850 to arrange a time to meet to turn in your tickets for a full refund.

Thank you for your continued support of the Strand Theatre.   We regret any inconvenience this may cause.   We look forward to seeing you at another event soon.

Thank You,

The Strand Management