FORECAST 2021 9
Gaines said. “He said, ‘This is your 85th birthday,
so I’m going to put up $8,500 if you can get the
community to match that. And I’ll actively solicit
other businesses to come in and do the same thing.’
And he did, over the course of three months. Then
Earl Smith called and said, ‘If Jay will do it, I’ll do it
with $10,000.’ And it just kept rolling. Not in a million
years did I think we would be able to raise $50,000,
much less match $50,000. But (local philanthropist)
Steve Imler, with his big heart, made it happen.”
Looking to the future, Gaines said the theater will
continue to produce its private movie nights and hopes
to get back to its normal productions when it is safe.
As of Jan. 29, Gaines said the theater had hosted 90
private movie nights, which cost $350 each for up to 15
people and include non-alcoholic concessions. Gaines
said the theater will continue to host those even when
live theater returns, to give those still being cautious an
Yard Care Made Easy.
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opportunity to safely enjoy the theater.
Gaines also said Cobb’s close-knit arts community
has helped all of the county’s organizations find ways
to survive, whether it’s through grant suggestions or
just bouncing ideas off of one another.
“I am so happy that everyone in our arts district
took the time to start talking to and partnering with
each other before all of this happened,” Gaines said.
“So now, there is a network of us who are partnering
together and relying on each other for information and
advice on how to get us through this, and continue
successfully into this year.”
On his outlook, Gaines said he is “cautiously
optimistic. When we know we can reopen and it’s safe
and makes financial sense to do so, we’re going to
open in a big way. We will sustain and do what we can
to serve the public. We have a plan, we’ll stick to that
plan, and if something were to happen, we’ll adjust.”