Help Kimball's, save your seat

It won’t feed the hungry or save the rain forest, but if you’re a fan of independent cinema, an offbeat charity at Kimball’s Twin Peak Theater might at least make the world a little more comfortable, one seat at a time.

Owner Kimball Bayles has wanted to replace the ancient and occasionally decrepit seats in his two theaters for a long time. The problem was money. The new seats cost $300 apiece, there are 432 seats . . . you do the math.

His solution? Sell those seats.

If patrons kick in $150, $200 or $250 (depending on location) to subsidize a seat, everyone stands — well, sits — to benefit.

But wait, there’s more. Sponsor the seat and you have first dibs on that seat forever and ever, Bayles said. Your name will go on the back and if you call ahead, the theater will reserve it for you. (You still pay admission.)

“That seat is yours for the life of the seat,” Bayles said. “It does give you bragging rights. If you call the day of the movie, we’ll save it for you. If you die, you can leave it to your family.”

Kimball’s isn’t a nonprofit, however, so there’s no tax write-off and the only charity that stands to benefit is the nebulous goal of better cinema. Bayles said the idea came from the Circle Cinema in Tulsa, Okla. — although that theater is run by a nonprofit foundation, so Kimball’s may still be breaking new ground in the annals of fundraising.

“We have a pretty loyal audience,” Bayles said. “As more people come in and find out about it, hopefully we’ll get a significant amount sold.”

Patrick Corcoran, director of media and research for the National Association of Theatre Owners, said this is the first time he’s heard of a for-profit theater selling seats.

“I know that’s something that live theater has done for a long time,” Corcoran said. “(But) this is the first I’ve heard of a movie theater.”

The current seats were used when Bayles bought them back in 1994. They were in OK shape then, he said, but have served their time.

“Those seats have been pretty sketchy,” he said. “They’ve got some serious nacho cheese stains that don’t come out.”

Should you have a use for a wellworn, nacho-stained movie seat, Bayles said pay for a new one and he’ll give you the old one when the new seats arrive.

And the new ones are nice: American-made high-back rockers sporting twin cupholders and folding arm rests. Bayles plans to reconfigure the theater — just the larger front theater for now — and remove about 50 seats, leaving better sight lines and more leg room for everyone.

So far, only two film fans have signed up for seats, one in the middle with a prime viewing angle, the other on the aisle toward the back.

For now, Kimball’s is taking $100 deposits. If enough people sign up, the new seats will be installed by summer.

Act now, ushers are standing by.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0275 or awineke@gazette.com