Our beloved Ramsey Theatre closed its doors on August 20, 2013. Please help us bring back this cherished neighborhood landmark.
The Ramsey Theatre opened in 1927 and has been a favorite destination for our town and the neighboring communities ever since. Many charming stories surround the theatre which, in the early days, showed silent movies accompanied by an organist.
As parents and Ramsey business owners, we were saddened to learn of the closing of the theatre. We share a love for cinema and know that this small-town theatre was not only a symbol of our family town, but also a safe haven for our kids and a special place to go with our families.
When we were approached about taking over the theatre after the previous owner retired, we were hesitant because the project is financially challenging. But we decided to go for it and formed the Ramsey Theatre Group to bring back a new and improved - and digital - Ramsey movie theatre. But we need your help.
The theatre must be digitized before the end of 2013 because the movie industry is converting to 100% digital – replacing 35 mm film entirely by the end of this year. The cost of this conversion is extremely high.
Most of the large theatres across the country have already converted to digital. But for a small town theatre like Ramsey’s, the cost is prohibitive.This is why we are turning to the community, who understands the importance of keeping a movie theatre in the town of Ramsey, to partner with us as we begin the journey of digitizing and renovating our Ramsey Theatre.
Just the digital conversion alone will cost well over $100,000. Our initial goal is to raise a minimum of $125,000 through kickstarter.com so we can at least complete the digital conversion of both theatres. But that is only the beginning!
We hope to exceed our campaign goal so we can make the much needed renovations to the theatre for the public - new seats, new carpet, new lobby/concession area and new bathrooms.
We are excited about the digital upgrade to our theatre because it will enhance the movie-going experience for everyone – which is great! Unfortunately, if we don’t convert to digital, the theatre will remain closed forever.
We don’t want the Ramsey Theatre to go dark and we know you don’t either.That’s why we initiated this Kickstarter campaign which includes great rewards for our supporters - so you can experience the new and improved Ramsey Theatre!
Together, we can bring back a NEW Ramsey Theatre - creating the gem of Main Street for many generations to come!
Risks and challenges
Exceeding our goal is VERY important so we can successfully convert both theatres to digital technology AND renovate our theatre for the community.
We chose Kickstarter.com to help us fund this project because the funds are only released if our target goal is reached or exceeded. We only have 35 days to raise these funds.
When our project is funded, we will immediately begin the process of digitizing the theatres. The additional renovations (seats, carpet, lobby/concession and bathrooms) will be completed based on the total dollar amount that is pledged to our project once the pledge period ends.
Let's work together to re-open a beautiful new and completely digital theatre by mid-December!
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Funding period
- (35 days)