The Jones Theater in Westcliffe, Colorado plans to initiate a crowdfunding campaign to fund repairs and updates for the historic building, the Canon City Daily Record reported.
The fundraising will be held on the GoFundMe crowdfunding platform and is scheduled to start on March 1 and will last for six weeks. Former Westcliffe residents Peter Link and Julia Wade started the idea when they set up a campaign that would raise $60,000 to renovate the Jones Theater auditorium.
Building owner Ann Relph told the Canon City Daily Record in an interview, "It's been started by Watchfire Music co-owners Peter Link and Julia Wade, former residents of Westcliffe. They've done a number of these campaigns successfully so they put the campaign together for us." Relph said that GoFundMe accepts contributions from all over the US and those interested in the project can donate $5 to $10, adding that contributions are also tax-deductible.
Relph said that cement will be poured on the theater floor because the wooden floor is already old. The organizers are also looking at installing new carpeting and audio system. Relph said, "Under the carpeting, there will be what's called a hearing loop. It's a new audio system that helps people who have hearing aids hear very clearly. You don't have to use ear phones on. It goes directly to the hearing aids and people say they hear just like they did as young kids."
Relph added that part of the renovation will be reinsulating the auditorium's east wall and doing the heating system over so that it will be more efficient and reduce heating bills, the report said.
The repairs will begin after the funds have been collected. This will be during the productions of "Shakespeare in the Sangres" which will be held in Garret Carlson's park located behind the theater sometime in June and July. In case the renovations are not completed by the fourth production, the park will also serve as the temporary venue of the plays, the report said.
Join the Conversation