Camaro raffle to help restore old downtown theater

The Callaway Arts Council is selling 600 raffle tickets for a chance to win a 2010 Chevy Camaro, used as a pace car in that year's Indianapolis 500 race. The proceeds for the raffle will benefit the council's efforts to restore the downtown Fulton Theater on Court Street.
The Callaway Arts Council is selling 600 raffle tickets for a chance to win a 2010 Chevy Camaro, used as a pace car in that year's Indianapolis 500 race. The proceeds for the raffle will benefit the council's efforts to restore the downtown Fulton Theater on Court Street.

When people think of fast cars and movie theaters, legends like Steve McQueen and James Dean usually spring to mind. However, the two have come together to raise funds for Fulton's downtown theater restoration project.

The Callaway Arts Council is holding a raffle for a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro used as a pace car in that year's Indianapolis 500 race - the 21st of just 50 cars manufactured for that purpose.

The old Fulton Theater's marquee invites passersby to be "1 in 600," referring to the 600 total tickets available for purchase through the Fulton Chamber of Commerce, Century 21 and J.M. Horseman office in Fulton. Each ticket costs $100, and all proceeds will benefit the Callaway Arts Council and its efforts to restore the theater to its original state.

Council board member David McDaniel said that when they came up with the idea to raffle off a car, the council hoped to be able to raise close to $20,000.

"We originally were going to give away a new car, and the car we wanted to give away is not available, it's on a very limited supply," said McDaniel. "We didn't want to take a chance on selling tickets and having to refund everyone's money, so we were looking for something a little unique and we ran across it ... we wanted something you can't just go anywhere and buy."

McDaniel said they bought the car from a collector in California, who agreed to ship the car to Fulton for free and help out with some of the costs. Bank Star One, the raffle's main sponsor, has also helped with promotional costs.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.