Small towns often have to overcome the challenge of hearing people say, "There's nothing to do here!" But Chris Gydesen answered that call for the downtown of Saguache by purchasing and renovating Ute Theater on Fourth Street. The movie theater is now open for your enjoyment and use! Chris and her husband live just outside of Saguache, and have loved Saguache and the surrounding community for a long time. "The timing just felt right to me to do this," remarked Gydesen. "We're excited about the downtown revitalization plans for Saguache, we have a lot of ideas for different uses for the space and we believe there's a need for independent theaters to bring back a sense of community in these small towns." The theater sits in a building originally built in 1916 that was remodeled to accommodate a theater in 1947. It closed in 2005 and was in need of repairs when Chris purchased it. They have installed handicapped seating and new, comfortable seating in the middle section of a theater that can handle about 185 individuals. She painted the lobby in the same theme as the 1947 Manley popcorn machine that came with the building. "This baby still works, adds a lot of atmosphere on movie nights, and makes the best popcorn in the world!”

Gydesen hopes to rent out the theater for private parties, meetings and trainings, live theater, plays and other community events. Members of a local community theater group just finished their first talent/variety show in late August and they have a melodrama called “A Golden Fleecing” coming up. It will be at the theater on Saturday, September 19th at 4:30 p.m. to coincide with Saguache’s Fall Festival. It will also be performed at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 20th and donations will be accepted at the door.

Chris met Donna Wehe, Director of the Small Business Development Center, through her involvement with the Saguache County Sustainable Environment and Economic Development group. SCSEED and the SBDC are offering business support services to anyone who is in business or wants to start a business in Saguache. After touring the renovated theater, Donna was impressed by every detail - especially the attractive lobby area and the foreign/independent film offerings. One of the challenges for independent theater operators is that they often don't know which film they will be showing until just a few weeks before show time. The third Thursday of every month is when Chris is showing foreign films with English subtitles or Independent Films at 7:30 p.m. The next one showing on September 17th will be Lorna’s Silence, which is the new film written and directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Belgian brothers whose highly recognizable, frequently imitated style has won them recognition nearly everywhere in the world. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday of every weekend at 7:30 p.m. they show a new release. The phone number for the Ute Theater is 719-655-6300. The voicemail will let you know which movie will be showing as well as remind you that there are a lot of choices in the concession stand.