For about two months, the theater seats have been empty and the silver screen has been blank. But Monday, the lobby at Met Cinema was bustling with people like Debbie Gerber, who want Oakhurst’s only theater to reopen.
“We want to save the Met. It's the only entertainment our town has,” said Debbie Gerber, a Coarsegold resident.
High school student Allison Boyer has devoted days of her holiday break, asking folks to sign up for a Met membership. She says it's time well spent, if it works.
“There've been so many movies in the last couple of months that I've wanted to see, but couldn't because I don't have the ability to drive all the way to Fresno,” said Boyer.
The men behind the movement are three friends who grew up seeing movies at the theater they’re trying to save. When James Nelson heard the Met closed, he came up with a possible solution and called his buddies for help.
“What would work, was the question that kept popping into my head, and the membership just seemed like maybe a good idea,” said Nelson, who’s behind the Save the Met campaign.
Nelson’s childhood friend, Keith Walker, quit his job as a software engineer in the bay area to commit to the project.
“I'm not nervous. I believe that this is going to happen,” said Walker.
A goal of 3,000 memberships comes down to the last few hours of the final day.
“This has to be saved and there has to be a way to do it. The town wants it and they're going to save it,” said Matthew Sconce of the Save the Met project.
At 4:15pm, they still needed 130 memberships to reach their goal.
