CHILLICOTHE — By the end of 2013, the movie industry will discontinue distributing film, leaving theaters with film projectors the option of either purchasing digital projectors or closing down.

Town Theatre, 1029 N. Second St., Chillicothe, is one of the thousands of theaters around the country that operates without digital technology.

With the help of the community, Town Theatre, owned and operated by the Chillicothe Optimist Club, is replacing its film projectors with digital projectors, replacing its existing speakers and installing surround sound speakers in each of its two theaters, this fall.
“Our projectors are so old,” said Treasurer of the Optimist Club Town Theatre Irvin Latta. “They’re 40 or 50 years and they’re constantly breaking down. We thought we might as well do this now, instead of later.
“The two projectors and all the sound and all of the apparatus that goes with it is about $132,000. And then there’s going to be some electrical upgrades in both projection rooms, so we estimate the total cost of this conversion is going to be somewhere close to $135,000.”
To help Chillicothe Optimist Club — a non-profit organization that has donated its profits from the theater to various organizations that support over 3,000 children who live in and around Chillicothe since it purchased the theater in 2009 — the City of Chillicothe has pledged $50,000 that will be dispersed $10,000 a year for five years, for the digital conversion project. They also gave Chillicothe Optimist Club a five-year, low-interest $120,000 loan for the project.
Ronald McDonald Charities of Central Illinois also donated $10,000 for the project.
“With the McDonald’s grant of $10,000 and our club money of $9,000, we didn’t have enough to buy the projectors, so they’re going to give us a low-interest loan for five years that we will pay back once a year in an annual interest and principal unit for five years of $120,000 to help us buy the projectors now,” said Latta. “Each year when the loan comes due, the city will kick in with $10,000 and we will come up with anywhere between $15,000-18,000 of our own that we will fundraise every year, for the next five years.”
To raise money for the repayment of the loan, Chillicothe Optimist Club will hold a digital drive event every August, for the next five years.
This year, the digital drive will be held August 26 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. at IVC High School. There will be lunch, raffle drawings, silent and live auctions, and live entertainment at the digital drive.
“We’re hoping to raise $10,000 that day,” said Latta. “It will be a barbecue, pork chop and chicken luncheon with all the trimmings for $8. A number of really, really neat outstanding items will be auctioned off that day. There will be a Cruise-In and a variety of entertainment.”
If Chillicothe Optimist Club is unable to raise enough money at the digital drives, they will use profits from the theater to help repay the loan.
“Whatever we raise at our fundraiser, whether it’s $6,000, $8,000, $10,000, $12,000, that will all be put toward that payment,” said Latta. “And then the second source is the profits of the theater. We will round out whatever we owe from the profits of the theater, while keeping in mind we want to keep giving money to kids. We’re hoping to continue to give about $12,000 a year to kids and still pay whatever we need to pay for that loan payment.”
The digital projectors and new speakers will be installed on September 24. Town Theatre will start operating with the new equipment on September 25.
According to Latta, the digital projectors and surround sound system will significantly enhance the visual and audio experience of the moviegoer at Town Theatre.
“The viewing experience for the moviegoer will be so much more enhanced than what we are able to produce today,” said Latta. “On a scale of one to ten, the old equipment we have may be giving you a quality of a five, but the new digital equipment will give us a quality of a ten. And the sound is about the same. The viewing experience is going to be immeasurable for the customer. We’re going to be very proud of what we have.”