There are several different ways you can support the Blair.
You can become a Blair VIP. The Blair VIP program is a way for you to support the Blair on a monthly basis and help us raise the funds needed to finish restoring the theater as well as help expand our offerings to you, the patron. Depending on the level you choose, you'll get different perks of being a VIP.
You can join our Board of Directors or contact us about being a volunteer.
You can make a donation by clicking on the donate button, by mailing us a check, or by simply placing a check, bills, or lose pocket change in one of our donation boxes at the Blair at the next event you attend. If you do mail a check, please be sure to put any special instructions on the memo line. Any checks not specifically designated to a fund or project will go directly into our general operations fund.
Do you shop at Amazon? Please consider using Amazon Smile and setting the Blair as your designated charity. Amazon will donate a percentage of your purchase to the Blair at no cost to you.
In the year 2000, the Blair Center for the Arts Foundation was formed and began the process of renovating the theater. Over the next eight years, lots of work was done, and through the help and support of our local community, the theater opened again to the public for the first time in over 12 years. Like many organizations around the country, COVID-19 has had a negative effect on our mission. However, we're still moving forward with trying to build a facility to provide quality arts and entertainment and to be a community gathering place for the residents of Belleville, Republic County, and the greater North Central Kansas Region. Below, you can see a list of things we are looking to do and an estimated cost for each item. If you can help in any way, please feel free to contact us and let us know.
Over the past few years, we have been able to meet with some great companies and form some good partnerships. Below are just a few of the items that we have identified needing to purchase to help achieve our goal of renovating the Blair into a working arts center. While some of these costs may seem very high, please remember that the theater hasn’t been a theater in a very long time and previous occupants removed all of the theater equipment. So we, in essence, stating from the beginning.
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- Architectural and Structural Analysis and Design
- Theater Rigging System
- Theater Soft Goods Package
- Engineered Theater Staging
- Building Electrical Upgrade
- Theater Lighting System
- Theater Sound System
- This equipment is different than what is used for the cinema sound system.
- Theater Video System
- This equipment is different than what is used for the cinema projection system.
With your help, by upgrading the facilities here at the Blair, we'll be able to host more live events and increase the entertainment we can offer. This will result in an increase in the number of visitors that we can help bring to the area who will possibly shop at nearby retailers before or after a play, eat dinner at nearby restaurants before an evening dance recital, or get a room for the night and avoid driving home to Seneca, Phillipsburg, Geneva, or Fairbury after a concert or a late-night comedy show.
You can donate directly to our capital campaign at https://givebutter.com/BlairRenovations
The Blair is currently accepting bids from architectural and engineering firms for our renovation project. We are looking for companies interested in Initial Condition Assessment all the way through to completion. If your company would like to submit a bid on this project, please send a proposal.
The Blair would like to thank the following groups, businesses, and organizations for their support with the Pop-up Cinema. Without them we wouldn't be able to bring this to our community:
- Republic County Community Foundation
$15,000 grant to help purchase the Pop-up screen; $9810.50 grant to purchase a trailer to move the pop-up cinema equipment. - Papermoon Opera Productions
Projector Rental - Kris Kirkwood Designs
Projections and Technical Consultant
Below is a table of items with an approximate dollar amount we still need to finish the Pop-up Cinema. Due to supply chain issues and inflation, this list may not be accurate.
| Item | Need | Cost | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 275 Gallon Water Totes | 4 | $389 | $1,556 |
| Blower Silencing Case | 1 | $360 | $360 |
| Rigging Package | 1 | $400 | $400 |
| 30' x 40' Heavy Duty Canvas Tarp | 2 | TBD | TBD |
| 20,000 Lumen Projector | 1 | $38,000 | $38,000 |
| Listening App for Phones | 1 | $600 | $600 |
| TBD Sound System | 1 | TBD | TBD |
| 12.5kW Generator | 1 | $12,000 | $12,000 |
The Blair is always looking for sponsors for the events we put on. Here are just a few of the events that we'd love to have sponsors for:
- "Weekend at the Pop-up" Film Series - We're hoping to get movies into all the local communities but we can't do it alone. Please contact us if you think that you, your friends, your business/employer, and/or your organization would be interested in sponsoring one of these events.
- "No School" Film Series - There are several times throughout the year where students aren't in school. We'd love to be able to them some quality entertainment outside of our normal programming.
- Professional Development Days Series
- Christmas/Holiday Vacation Series
- Spring-break Series
- Friday Summer Movie Series