Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Goodhand Theatre Attracts 630 Students, Adults In Just 3 Days
More than 630 adults and students – elementary though high school – filled Kimball's own Goodhand Theatre this past week over the course of just three days.
On Wednesday morning, Dec. 19, elementary students from Albin enjoyed the free movie showing of "Elf," followed by elementary students out of Pine Bluffs later that afternoon.
Thursday afternoon it was the turn for Mary Lynch students to enjoy the movie. Kimball's junior high and high school students got their chance Friday mooring with a showing of 'Home Alone."
Students and teachers received a bag of popcorn, a drink from the theatre and a bag of candy donated by Hometown Hardware and Floral.
Members of the Kimball HELPS organization volunteered their time on Friday morning to pass out the goodies to students making their way into the theatre. For the high schoolers, there was even a Christmas surprise in store -- 2018 Kimball High graduates Alex Reader and Nicholas Thomas Lewis handed out popcorn with many hugs in between.
This is a busy week out of the year for Goodhand that includes six solid days of movies -- and a whole lot of popcorn!
"This is the third year we have done this for the kids. It seems to grow each year," said Adrain Fuss of the Friends of the Goodhand Theatre.
The Goodhand also had showings this past weekend of "A Christmas Story."
Not only did the local and surrounding area schools get the opportunity to see a movie, they were able to to see a piece of Kimball history (the theatre) and how much a community can come together.
"We are still currently raising money for the new projector. We have raised nearly $21,300 out of our $55,000 goal," said Fuss.
"We are always looking for more volunteers and more board members," said Keith Prunty, Kimball mayor and a Friends of the Goodhand board member. "We like to think of ourselves as the caretakers of this theatre, and that it is indeed a community effort. We have had a movie sponsor for each movie over the past two years. We have such a great relationship between the schools and the community."
Members of the community are encouraged to visit the theatre's website for show times, what movies are playing, and even be able to donate to the fundraiser. The projector fundraiser is in the government's 501(c)(3) category for nonprofit organizations and offers tax deductions.