Pipe & Stage Repairs at the Fox
Everyone in Visalia seems to have a Fox Theatre story.
Since its opening in 1930, through the years of the Great Depression and beyond, it has served its community in a myriad of ways. It is, and has always been, a place where people gather for entertainment and inspiration - where they come to engage with arts and culture as much as they come to engage with each other. The Fox is the heart of Downtown, and literally the symbol of our city. Without a doubt, it is a historical landmark worth preserving. 
Right now, it needs your help.
On the morning of December 7th, staff discovered a flood of water in the orchestra pit of the stage, mere inches away from the Mighty Wurlitzer organ – one of a number of irreplaceable theatre treasures. 
Immediately, theatre technicians, board members, and executive staff sprang to action, using buckets to keep the rising flood waters at bay until the appropriate water main could be located and turned off.
Then, in the abandoned underground tunnels originally used for the theatre's cooling system, workers discovered the nearly 15,000 gallons of water that had accumulated as a result of a burst pipe in their 87-year-old plumbing system. As if to add insult to injury, they learned shortly after that the broken line was located about a foot below ground, and ran directly underneath the entire length of the Fox stage.
To keep from cancelling any of the events scheduled to take place at the theatre the next several days, work was performed around the clock, and the Fox was up and running again just 16 hours after the leak was discovered. By Friday afternoon, even the massive hole that had been cut in the stage to access the pipe was repaired, and the scheduled events went off without a hitch.
Click to watch the ABC30 news coverage of the incident.
Invoices for the labor, materials, and overtime cleanup efforts continue to trickle in, but the final cost of the incident is estimated around $10,000. 
To many people, that price tag may sound like a relatively insignificant cost for a theatre hosting dozens of events a year, with single tickets often priced at $50 or more. However, the reality couldn't be further than the truth, and such misconceptions are one of the most difficult hurdles the board and staff of the Visalia Fox continuously struggle to overcome.
Years of unexpected issues led to the accumulation of tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt incurred through maintenance and repair projects. Owing to both a lack of capital and a desire to limit the financial risk associated with presenting its own shows, several years ago, the Board of Directors made the decision to operate the Fox primarily as a rental venue.
With limited risk comes limited reward. For each sold-out show, the Fox only retains an average of $5,000 through the sale of tickets and the nominal Restoration & Handling fees assessed to each one.
Consider the fact that the theatre does not currently house its own sound system, the capacity of the theatre’s original electrical system frequently requires the rental of a generator, and that keeping the theatre cool during the summer can cost as much as $10,000 per month. With those variables, it doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that rental revenue alone doesn’t generate nearly enough to sustain the Fox.
Community support is truly the lifeblood of the Fox, and it’s needed now more than ever.
Our goal is to raise $10,000 by December 31, 2016 to cover the cost of the pipe replacement and other associated repairs.
Every dollar helps, and can be considered a tax-deductible contribution.
The Visalia Fox Theatre was built to serve our community. With your help, it can continue to do so for generations to come.
