Fulton Heritage Trust to match half of donations to restore downtown theater

The Fulton Heritage Trust has pledged to match 50 percent of donations to the Callaway Arts Council for the downtown theater revitalization project, up to a total donation of $5,000.
The Fulton Heritage Trust has pledged to match 50 percent of donations to the Callaway Arts Council for the downtown theater revitalization project, up to a total donation of $5,000.

After years of lackluster financial support, the historic downtown Fulton theater has a vow of support rallying toward restoration.

The Fulton Heritage Trust has pledged to match $1 for every $2 that the Fulton Arts Council raises to revive the aging, ailing structure, up to $5,000 - meaning if the theater fund can raise $10,000, the trust will bring that total to $15,000.

Heritage Trust President Vicki Backer McDaniel said the group wanted to give fundraising efforts to save the building a "shot in the arm."

"We'd like to get the project more off the ground," she said. "We need to bring it to the public's attention and hopefully get some support for it. It should help the community and downtown, and it's a preservation project; that's what the Fulton Heritage Trust is all about."

Backer McDaniel said the match would be funded out of the Heritage Trust's general proceeds, most notably raised through the group's annual Christmas home tours.

The theater opened in 1928, originally serving as a vaudeville stage before becoming the city's first movie theater. It has sat disused for years and is in need of about $100,000 in exterior renovations before that can change, according to Callaway Arts Council board members Dale Lewis and David McDaniel.

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.