ShelbyIdol FINALS!!   This Saturday night July 17, 2010, the finals of SHELBYIDOL will be held at the Strand Theatre.   The performance starts at 7:00pm.  This is an entertaining and uplifting event for all that attend.  We hope to see you there.   Good luck contestants!

Electricity, plumbing, heating and A/C….the list goes on.    Work continues at the Strand.   The big push is to complete our electrical work.  The carrot at the end of the stick will be the ability to finish our marquee.  Unfortunately we have to do things in order.  We wish we could pass GO and collect $200, but that is not the case.   We have located the path where our new wire will go.  This is to get the electrical feed from the west wall to the east wall…not an easy job.  
Our A/C units have been working overtime in the heat.   We have had a theatre full of people our last two performances.   Everyone remained cool, but our electrical meter worked overtime.   We have 25 tons of cooling, and according to Bob S. we need 30.   The only time you notice is on very hot days will lots of people…like the summer of 2010.

We are pleased to announce that the Blue River Community Foundation has awarded the Strand a grant for roof repair.   There are some jobs that are just not suited for volunteers.  The roof is one of them.   It is too high and too old.   The contractor doing the work (at an outstanding price) has put us on his schedule.  We anticipate starting in the fall when it is not so hot.   One way or the other, it will be completed by the time winter sets in.    The grant covered just under half the cost.  We have been saving our pennies, and we have enough funds to complete the project.    It will not be a permanent fix, but should buy us another 10 years.

So much to do, so little time.  Ever suffer from that?  We do, however slowly but surely we work our plan and continue our efforts.  The Strand is 94 years old.  If it takes us a few months to accomplish things, so be it.  Remember, we opened the doors for renovation just over 3 years ago.   In that time we have re-opened and now we are waiting for our 20,000 audience member to walk through the theatre doors.    That day is coming very soon!

A quick mention that our friends at Indiana Downs have a concert coming up.   There will be a Rock Concert to benefit Ronald’s House on July 16th (today!) at 7:00pm.   One of the bands is a former Strand performer with musicians that volunteered during our renovation.   We don’t have anything scheduled, so go out and support a great cause at Indiana Downs!

Thanks for the support.