Last Updated on June 20, 2021, 9:30 AM | Published: June 18, 2021
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — The ribbon has been cut for Rodeo Cinema’s additional new location at the Paramount on Film Row and the Grand Opening is planned for Friday night.
And, since you can’t cut the ribbon on a project too many times, Rodeo’s Executive Director Julia Holeman will cut the ceremonial ribbon again for their Grand Opening in the lobby of the Paramount theater.
Come to the Paramount on Film Row, 701 West Sheridan, for the Grand Opening from 5 – 7 p.m. and a film that is being kept a surprise before the event.
The 60 seats in the theater on Film Row will add new capacity for more screenings in addition to their 170 seats in the nonprofit’s original location in the Stockyards.
Holeman walked through the facility — originally one of the many preview theaters for film previews at the various film companies located on Film Row — for the virtual ribbon cutting showing those who had joined from remote locations watched.
Charles Dodson, Second Deputy for Oklahoma County Commissioner Brian Maughan, attended to represent the OKC Chamber as Chamber staff did the hosting virtually.
“This is a really exciting development,” Dodson said. “I was a part of a group that met three times to develop a vision for what Film Row could be and this is great!”
Expansion
After the ribbon cutting Free Press talked to Holeman about what the second location would do for Rodeo’s programing.
“It really opens some doors for us to be able to do a lot more things. So, we have more room to play more films, so we’ll be able to have more new release films at once,” said Holeman.
“Leading up to this, with one screen, we’ve pretty much had one or two films playing at once,” she added. “And now, we can have up to four or five, which really is awesome.”
The expanded capacity will allow them to run two films simultaneously because now they have two screens and two locations.
Holeman said that the expansion will allow them to show more independent films and to celebrate more anniversaries of famous films.
Having more community events is another aspect of being a community nonprofit Holeman has hopes to achieve since they aren’t just adding one more screen but another location with it’s own potential.
“It also opens the door for us to partner with other nonprofits more readily and to have more events catered to the community,” said Holeman.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
