Those considering attending a rescheduled Crump Theatre fundraiser that possibly could include native son Tony Stewart in attendance March 6 better speed up their decision making.
Slightly more than half of an expected 200 tickets have been sold, according to organizers. The dinner, music, raffle and auction event from 5 to 11:30 p.m. will unfold under a tent on the east side of The Crump — providing that COVID-19 restrictions are updated to allow for a crowd to gather. A Dec. 5 date originally was planned, but coronavirus restrictions canceled it.
The gathering will also raise money for the Tony Stewart Foundation that that helps everyone from ill children to abused animals.
The Crump is the 131-year-old art deco venue that made 2019’s Indiana Landmarks 10 Most Endangered structures list. Preservationists and others have said that alone should continue to help bolster efforts to save the building that has hosted everything from movies to concerts to plays.
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A total of 85 of the Indiana Landmark’s 139 sites listed as endangered since the list began in 1991 are either now restored or no longer endangered, according to Mindi Woolman, Indiana Landmarks spokeswoman. Sixteen buildings that had been on the list have been lost in that time, she said.
The structure has been closed to the public since 2014 except for an occasional event allowing the public to see the first-floor lobby. The Crump, owned by the Columbus Capital Foundation, has been for sale since 2015 at a general price of $200,000.
Jessica Schnepp, volunteering lead project coordinator for the Crump, mentioned that she is encouraging people to purchase tickets in groups so more people can be seated at a table, thereby allowing for a larger crowd. Many tickets sold to individuals would mean more individual seats spaced for safety.
Tony Stewart Foundation Director Erica Raisor is impressed with the public support thus far for ticket purchases. Prices are $500 for a table of seats, $300 for a half table and $125 for individual seats.
The posted deadline online is early February, but it hardly looks as if they will last that long.
“They are going pretty quickly,” Raisor said.
Schnepp acknowledged that the more people get a chance to familiarize themselves with the theater at special events, the more interested they seem to be in its restoration.
“When you’re able to directly experience things, and see them for yourself, it helps,” Schnepp said. “And most of our current donors to the Crump are local.
“They have great memories (of it). They remember.”
Schnepp added that those unable to attend the fundraiser are invited to donate to the cause at tonystewartfoubndation.org
Helping the fundraising effort will be autographed Tony Stewart merchandise as part of an auction, plus Stewart merchandise that can be purchased to support the cause, according to Raisor.
Ideally, Schnepp has said organizers would love to raise $100,000 to be split between the two entities.
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Go to tonystewartfoundation.org/events for ticket information.
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