Every time Stettler residents Byron and Sonya Geddes drove by the Jewel Theatre in downtown Stettler in 2014, they would hope the "for sale" sign on the marquee board would change to "SOLD."
And finally, it did; the Geddes, tired of seeing the building dark and quiet, purchased the business. It's a humbling memory as the two-year anniversary was celebrated late last month.
After a summer of renovations, the Geddes re-opened the Jewel Theatre with a premier showing of The Hunger Games on Nov. 21.
"Stettler needed a theatre," Byron Geddes said, when asked what prompted him and Sonya to purchase the theatre.
Despite neither he or his wife having ever worked in a movie theatre, let alone the industry, the couple were ready to put in the hard work to make the theatre flourish.
"We just felt that it was something the community needed to have, so we stepped up and did it," he said. "We have no regrets, whatsoever."
Though a new screen had been purchased for the theatre shortly before it closed and was put up for sale, much of the building remained original to its first grand opening in 1952.
The foyer of the theatre was completely renovated, as was the amphitheatre itself.
"The flooring and walls were all redone," Rose Chapman, general manager, said. "It's now a nice place to be. People want to be here."
One of the biggest changes was new speakers and sound system, replacing the old, crackly system with something modern and crystal clear.
Chapman came on as general manager shortly before the theatre opened, and though she originally applied for the job as a joke between her and her sister-in-law, she hasn't looked back.
"My sister-in-law sent me the newspaper ad for the job as a joke," Chapman recalled. "She said, 'You like movies, you should apply.' So, I sent in my resume."
Despite having never worked in a movie theatre in her life, she received a call in short order offering the job.
"She was the best one," Geddes said. "She's been indispensable."
The day-to-day management of the Jewel Theatre falls to Chapman, who has been on the same learning curve as the new owners.
"It's been a huge learning curve for all of us," Geddes said. "We had no expectations coming in."
The theatre re-opened as an independent, which gave it the ability to operate with fewer restrictions. One of the first of the new ideas launched at the theatre was themed events.
When a superhero movie comes out, there's a superhero day. When Disney movies introduce a new princess, there's princess days. The highly anticipated 50 Shades of Grey debut came with a party for the ladies.
"We've done lots of ladies nights, and they always go well," Chapman said.
When Stettler's own Michael Lomenda movie, Jersey Boys, played in Stettler, it came with a red carpet event for the local singer turned movie star.
"We are slowly getting all the kinks worked out of everything," Geddes said. "Rose has just been fantastic – she's optimized, and customized, and economized."
Shortly after purchasing the theatre, Alberta's economy stalled. And while that has added some extra concern to the shoulders of the theatre's owners, they still don't regret buying the business.
"The events are very popular," Chapman said. "We do a lot of business with rentals and new releases."
The theatre shows one movie a week; sometimes that movie is a children's movie, sometimes it's one geared more at an older audience.
With only one screen, a week is the shortest time the theatre can show a movie.
"I never understood this before," Chapman said. "When we show a movie, the movie's distributor is basically renting our screen for a week. We can't show anything else."
Working with the distributors has been interesting, the pair said. Some are easier to work with than others, and new releases can end up on the screen at the same time as they do in major centres, or shortly after. With other studios, it can be a month or two before the theatre can get a new release.
Some of the big releases coming up include the new Star Wars movie, Rogue One and Disney's Moana.
The theatre also recently partnered with the Stettler Legion to offer a Cowboy Dinner Theatre. The evening featured a dinner at the Legion, followed by a Western at the Jewel.
"It was one of the more successful events so far," Chapman said. "Everyone who came through the doors loved it."
Every year as the theatre celebrates it's grand opening in November, it tries to bring in a big movie to celebrate. The first grand opening and the first anniversary featured Hunger Games movies. This year, it featured Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the new J.K. Rowling movie from Harry Potter's wizarding world. The movie stars Eddie Redmayne.
Giving back to the community remains important to the Geddes family, as the community has supported the Jewel since they purchased it in 2014.
On Saturday, Dec. 3, the Geddes family has arranged for Santa Claus to come to the Jewel Theatre for Santa Day.
From 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Santa will be at the Jewel and available to take wishlists from children, as well as have his photo taken. The Jewel will show The Polar Express at 10 a.m. and again at 12:30 p.m., with the cost of the event being a donation to the Stettler Food Bank.