Lights, Camera, Action…

With the advent of the cineplex, multiplex, quadriplex and the too-many-to-count-plex, the life expectancy of small-town cinemas has unfortunately grown shorter. Families today have different movie needs, and the cineplex caters to those needs. It’s regrettable but understandable that small community cinemas have fallen to the wayside.

Our own downtown theater was no exception. In late fall of 1999, after more than 70 years, Geneva Theatre played its last flick, a midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The Fargo Building’s owner at the time, Carol Boose, was encouraged by the City of Geneva to save the marquee as a classic and signature piece of the downtown; the City contributed $5,500 toward the $35,000 restoration project. A longtime Tri-City resident, Boose agreed to keep the marquee and still pays for its maintenance.

“It’s long been a part of Geneva and it was worth saving.”

“The city didn’t have to twist my arm too far to get me to restore the marquee,” Boose said. “It’s long been a part of Geneva, and it was worth saving.”

Tracy Burnidge, Boose’s son and owner of TAB Construction, was the general contractor for the building’s renovation. The new configuration included leveling out the slanted theatre floor and adding a second floor to the old theatre space. That second floor is now occupied by the building’s first new tenant State Street Dance Studio who joined existing tenants Valley Community Bank and Geneva Shoe Repair. With the addition of Citizen Kane, one of Geneva’s newer restaurants, the renovated theatre has been a popular building ever since.

Joe Stanton, who oversees the daily operation of the marquee, is grateful that the marquee was preserved.

“By saving the marquee, Carol has guaranteed that the building will forever be referred to as the Geneva Theatre Building,” Stanton said.

This article first appeared in the September 2008 issue of eGeneva Magazine.

“Rain Barrels on Parade” Marches In

Here’s a parade that wouldn’t mind being rained on.

The “Rain Barrels on Parade” campaign, organized by the Natural Resources Committee of Geneva, is drawing attention to water conservation in a new and artistic way. The committee sells 55-gallon rain barrels to local merchants, who then paint and decorate them and leave them outside their shop to collect rainwater. The barrels cost $75 each, and the purpose is to create awareness of the potential that rain barrels have to reduce water usage.

“Our main goal is to give people a better understanding of water conservation and show that rain barrels can be a part of that,” said Jay Womack, chairman of NRC and co-founder of the rain barrel campaign. “We want people to see that on a global scale with thousands of rain barrels, 55 gallons can really make a difference.”

Rain barrels allow rainwater to be recycled through simple tasks around the house such as watering the lawn Womack said. Plus, rainwater is free of chlorine and fluoride additives, making it cleaner and healthier for plants he added.

The campaign launched at last year’s Festival of the Vine, where 10 were sold. Since then, about 80 rain barrels have been sold, 25 on Earth Day alone.

“It’s really snowballed,” said Brad Koontz, vice chairman of NRC and co-founder of the rain barrel campaign. “Since Earth Day, people have been calling or e-mailing, reading about us in the newspaper. It’s something we always will have.”

There are more than 20 Geneva merchants participating in the “Rain Barrels on Parade” campaign, including Cocoon, State Street Jewelers and The Paper Merchant. While sales have been mostly aimed toward retailers so far, Womack and Koontz are considering expanding to more residences by next year.

“Rain Barrels on Parade” will return to Festival of the Vine this year where they will be featured in a live auction. Wine will be served, and decorated barrels will be auctioned off Sunday, Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. outside The Paper Merchant. Proceeds will go to the NRC to be used on additional environmental projects.

For more information on the rain barrel campaign or to order a rain barrel, please contact Brad Koontz at koontzbr@yahoo.com.

Amanda is a journalism graduate student at the University of Illinois and assistant editor of eGeneva Magazine.

This article first appeared in the August 2008 issue of eGeneva Magazine.