Entertainment : Fund-raising continues for Palace digital system; Kiwanis Club gives $1,000

Kiwanis Tom Lindauer, Michelle Schoonover & Ashlyn Christensen give check to Palace's Marcy Horst.

The fund-raising continues for the Vinton Palace Theatre digital projection system.

Two recent $1,000 donations have added to the total.

The Vinton Kiwanis Club donated $1,000 to the project. Kiwanis President Ashlyn Christensen presented a check for $1,000 to Palace Manager Marcy Horst.

Donations continue to come in at the Palace during movie nights. There is a friendly competition among Palace staff and volunteers to see who can collect the highest amount of donations.

"I thought I was doing pretty well," said Marcy. "I was up to about $192."

But Marcy is now a distant second to Doug Martens.

Doug tells the story in his own words.

"A woman came in and said she wanted to donate. I asked her if she wanted a $1, $5 or $25 card to put on display. She said, 'No, I want to write a check.' So she gave me the check and I looked at it -- it was for $1,000," said Doug.

Doug said the woman then indicated that she wanted her donation to be anonymous.

The Palace goal is to have the $80,000 for the digital system by the end of the school year, so the summer movies can be in digital, especially the 3-D sequels. This summer, "Cars 2," "Toy Story 3," and "Shrek 4" will all be in 3-D. Marcy said the Palace also plans to show Avatar in 3-D. That movie had been scheduled at the Palace but because of its immense popularity, there were not enough 2-D films of 'Avatar' available for the Palace to have one. The good news is that the movie can be seen in Vinton in 3-D.

To learn more about the digital fund-raiser, click HERE.