Tahoe Art Haus has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to help the locally owned theater in Tahoe City.
The Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema was founded in 2014 out of a love of the Tahoe-Truckee community and with a mission to bring quality entertainment to locals and visitors, according to the campaign. The Art Haus is run by Steven and Melissa Siig and Mark Gogolewski, long-time locals who have put their heart and soul into making the Art Haus a community gathering spot and a showcase for major motion pictures along with many different forms of art and education.
The Art Haus has struggled during the pandemic with limitations on capacity and closures. The Art Haus operated a drive in theater for five months. “However, the drive-in was not a moneymaker but only helped reduce the amount of money we were losing by having the theater closed for so long,” according to the fundraiser.
“We are facing two major challenges to survival. 1. Studios are delaying all blockbusters until the spring and summer of 2021 because of the pandemic, so we have no movies to show. … We are trying to be as creative as we can in our programming, but this leads us to Challenge No. 2: The majority of people are not yet comfortable returning to movie theaters because of Covid. We have taken every measure possible to make the theater as safe as we can (taking out seats to create social distancing, installing an air scrubber that uses UV light to kill germs and bacteria, and increased sanitization), however, we are barely getting anyone through the door,” according to the fundraiser.
The Art Haus faces the possibility that they will have no movies to show until the pandemic gets under control. “We don’t expect the movie theater industry to start bouncing back until summer or fall of 2021, so we need community help to survive the next 6 to 9 months,” according to the campaign. “We will use any money raised to pay for operating expenses (rent, utilities, employees) and invest in any new equipment that sanitizes the air and surfaces in the theater and lobby. | Donate gofundme.com
