When was the last time you saw “Billy Jack”?   For one patron last week, it was at the Strand (Cinema) in 1971.  He told us that he has been waiting for the movie to come back out.  He had not been to a movie since.   We were pleased that we were able to get him back into the movie going public after a 38 year absence.   Those who attended the movie were reminded how angry that time was.   Even friend of the Strand Robert L. commented on how it didn’t change much after all these years.  

We received a comment during the last ShelbyIdol performance from one of the female patrons.  She suggested we install a grab bar on the last stall in the women’s restroom.  She was right.  Bob S. took care of that as well as ordering more for the other stalls.  We appreciate the suggestions.  Sometimes we don’t see the obvious.  Now in some of our defense, the guys don’t normally hang out in the women’s restroom.  This has not always been the case…..when we renovated all spaces were fair game.  We had to remind ourselves that now we just couldn’t walk into the bathrooms without thinking.  There have been a few embarrassing moments, but not many.

Speaking of ShelbyIdol, the FINALS are this weekend.  The performance will start at 7:00pm on Saturday July 25, 2009.   Who will the winner be?   How will the judges vote?  How will the popcorn taste….yummy!   Make sure to get your tickets early, we look forward to another full house. 

Most of you are aware of our mantra to buy local.  Most everything we do comes from local vendors.   Although the price is not always the cheapest, we firmly believe it is the best VALUE.  In keeping with this portion of our mission, we have finally found a local popcorn grower.  After our current supply is exhausted, we will transition to Shelby County popcorn.   To be fair, half his farm is in Shelby County, and half is in Bartholomew County, but Bartholomew is too hard to type, so we will just call it Shelby County popcorn.   Steve F. will do wonders with the local grown popcorn, pure coconut oil and his special blend of herbs and spices.

Last week we discussed our little part that decided to fail inside our popcorn machine.  Steve F. found the replacement.  A new unit is on order.  Think of it as a little angioplasty and valve replacement for our 60 year old machine.

Our friends at the Shelby County Players have “Little Shop of Horrors” starting Friday night July 24th.  The show runs for several performances, so try to make it, tell them the Strand sent you.

The weekend we will be showing the classic “Gone in 60 Seconds” at 11:00pm Saturday night.  This will be after the ShelbyIdols finals.  On Wednesday July 29, 2009 @ 7:00 pm we will show “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”.   That final program for the month will put us at 70 events for the 2009 Season. 

August is shaping up to be a fun month.  We have Magic, Comedy, Rock Bands, Movies and more!   August 1st will be Dance of Illusion.  This professional troupe will be visiting Shelbyville from their base in Tucson Arizona.  We are fortunate to have such fine entertainment at an affordable price.  This show comes to us courtesy of the performers friend and local magician Tom Winterrowd.   We’ll talk more about that next week (but here is a hint, at the intermission of ShelbyIdol we’ll have a sneak peek at the Magic Act!)

Thanks for all your support.  It is a pleasure for all of us to be associated with the Strand.