Update on Flat Rock Cinema digital conversion

From the Flat Rock Cinema, more information on their digital conversion project:

Digital Project
This page was created to inform you by sharing new stories and for those who wish to make a donation towards the project.

The time is upon us to "Convert or Die" as we face the end of an era of 35 MM film. Most studios will no longer produce film by the end of this year so we must convert to digital projection in order to license movies. The cost of the conversion is about $60,000 - which we don't have. We don't own our real estate so it's difficult to borrow the money.

We are planning some benefits and are working to borrow some of the money needed to convert. We'll update this page as more details become available. Meanwhile, please read the stories below and consider helping us survive.

As of February 28, we have raised nearly $3,000! We are thankful that we live in such a great community!

DANCING FEETE BENEFIT
Dancing Feete Ballroom & Dance Center will host a benefit Rumba Group Class & Dance on Friday, March 2nd at 7:00 PM to help raise money for the Flat Rock Cinema's digital conversion project. Cost for the evening is $25 per person and all proceeds will go to the cinema's project.

Eric Foote, owner of the studio, has been teaching Arthur Murray Ballroom and Latin dancing for 15 years and offers group classes and private lessons. The studio is located behind Flat Rock Cinema and to the left of the fountain. Contact Dancing Feet Studio by calling 828.692.1900, cell 828.674.5253.

Check it out--you can also donate online.

"Cost of going digital hurts some small theaters"

 

Howard Molton, owner of Flat Rock Cinema, loads the film projector as he gets ready for Friday's showing of The Descendants. (Mike Dirks/TIMES-NEWS)

From the Times-News, a story on the Flat Rock Cinema and several other small theaters in the area on their move to digital:

Howard Molton, co-owner of Flat Rock Cinema, has received an outpouring of support from the community after he announced the business might have to close if he couldn't find a way to pay for a new projector....

"We've had a lot of people offer us money and people have given us money," he said. "We don't want to just be given a hand-out."

Instead, he is hosting a meeting at 11 a.m. Feb. 25 at the theater to explain the situation and brainstorm ideas.

"It's starting to get sort of critical," Molton said, adding that he wants to make the change in the next 90 days. He understands the financial reasons for changing the format, but said the change leaves him feeling a little nostalgic.

Mark Peddy, owner of Co-Ed Cinema in Brevard, said the conversion at his theater will take place in early March....

It's a hard time for small businesses looking for a loan to purchase the equipment, [Peddy] added. A lot of banks aren't lending money, but there is an option to lease the equipment from the bank and pay it off. "You have to be creative. You have to work at it," Peddy said.

Barry Flood, owner of Tryon Theatre, said he's still in the planning stage for finding a digital projector."I'm trying to find a used system that's affordable," he said.

Flood added that his theater runs movies six to eight weeks behind their premiere, and he can still find films in 35 mm. Flood purchased the theater in 1990, though it has been open since 1932....

Read it all.

More info from the Flat Rock Cinema

Via email:

Many of you have expressed interest in helping with our digital conversion project and we've tried our best to explain the details via emails, phone calls and in person. Some of you have offered suggestions and ideas about how we can raise the money through fundraising and investing and how you can help or participate.

We feel we should hold a brief meeting to further explain the situation and to discuss these ideas. We will meet on Saturday, February 25th at 11:00 am at the cinema.

Since seating is limited, you can make a reservation to attend if you want to help by calling the box office at 828-697-2463 during normal hours. You may have to keep trying if you call around show time.

Thanks for all of your support!

Highland Lake is no more...

. . . for now, anyway.

Highland Lake is a man-made lake, and every so often, the lake is drained so work can be done: dredging, clean up, etc. That's happening right now. The lake's drain pipe is at the dam bottom on the right side, so if you drive by now, you'll see no water coming over the dam, but water gushing out of the lower pipe.

Highland Lake was created in the 1790s when John Earle received a land grant and built the first grist mill at the bottom of the dam. In 1873, the property was inherited by Henrietta Aiken Rhett from her father, William Aiken, governor of South Carolina (1844-46). The lake was then called Rhett's Mill Pond, with the mill still at the bottom of the dam (and the original location of the Flat Rock Playhouse in the 1940s).

Highland Lake is fed by several streams, the biggest being King's Creek.

You can see on this map King's Creek coming into the lake from the south, and the dam is at the north end (right across from the Highland Lake golf course off of North Highland Lake Road).

Here's a view showing the terrain around the lake. During the time that the Catholic Church owned the lake and the surrounding area for their camp, Our Lady of the Hills (1950s to mid-1980s), they named the lake Madonna Lake, but I never heard anyone actually call it that--it was always Highland Lake when I was growing up.

If you visit the Highland Lake Inn and walk by down to the lake, you'll see a statute of the Madonna, a reminder from camp days.

I'm not sure when the switch was made from Rhett's Mill Pond to Highland Lake, perhaps when the lake was sold out of the Rhett family around 1910.

No worries about the lake, though, once the drain pipe is closed, the incoming streams will fill the lake back up.

February village council meeting: "Flat Rock officials size up sidewalk plans, discuss traffic study"

From the Times-News, a write-up of Thursday's monthly village council meeting:

Flat Rock Village Council continues to move forward with a sidewalk project on West Blue Ridge Road, and it discussed an easement for a piece of property at Thursday's meeting.

The property, identified as "the Nelson Property," will need to be obtained through an easement, and the cost will be about $8,000, Councilman Don Farr said. The sidewalks will run from Greenville Highway to Bonclarken Lake on West Blue Ridge Road.

The council agreed to move forward with the plan, and an engineer is working to sort out details of the drainage design.

The council also discussed funding half of a traffic study for Greenville Highway at the Singleton Centre. A median at the center's entrance on Greenville Highway prevents left-hand turns into the center, but center owner Jane Singleton would like to remove the median to allow left-hand turns. The N.C. Department of Transportation is requiring a traffic study to determine whether removing the median would be safe....

Read it all.

The Flat Rock Cinema needs help

The Flat Rock Cinema must convert to digital from 35mm film by the end of the year:

Many of you have asked about our situation concerning digital conversion and we appreciate the calls, emails and donations. Most studios are phasing out 35 MM film by the end of this year. In order to license movies - or stay in business - we have to convert to digital and the cost is $65,000.

The big-box cinemas get reimbursed by the studios but small operators like us don't qualify for the program. We can't just go out and buy a DLP projector. We need projectors and servers with security to handle the proprietary format of the digital movies. Since we lease the property and don't own the real estate, it's nearly impossible to get a loan from a bank. It's going to take a fundraiser or a loan from investors - or both. We welcome feedback and ideas from anyone and everyone by clicking HERE.

We're working hard to make this happen so please stay tuned for more details.

Opening in Congress

Anyone from Flat Rock want to run for Heath Shuler's NC-11th congressional district seat? From the Times-News:

U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler announced Thursday that he will not seek a fourth term in Congress.

Shuler made the announcement two days after saying he would not be running for governor. In a statement, Shuler said he wants to spend more time with his wife and two children....

It was widely believed that Shuler, a Democrat, was more vulnerable than ever this election cycle after redrawn congressional maps took Asheville out of the 11th District.

“He’s seen the handwriting on the wall since he’s in a different district and he’s going to have a strong (Republican) candidate against him and probably an anti-Obama trend,” said Mike Scruggs, chairman of the Henderson County Republican Party....

Read it all.

Tree preservation ordinance

The village of Flat Rock has adopted since its incorporation in 1995 several ordinances, one of which is the tree preservative ordinance. Its purpose:

In order to maintain the unique characteristics of the Village of Flat Rock as an historic residential community with forested landscapes and scenic vistas along the scenic byways and public roadways through the Village, it is necessary to preserve the quality and flavor of the trees and natural vegetation that form so much of the traditional appearance of the Village.

If you want to know more, take a look.