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Blackhart's Magic Theater Assistance Fund

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My name is Michael. I own Blackhart's Magic Theater in Wichita, KS. I opened my theater in February 2020 and, well, things weren't supposed to go this way....

I am posting this GoFundMe fundraiser today for Blackhart's after being urged to do so via an avalanche of messages from our fans and friends of the theater after reading my recent blog post on our website located here. In that blog post, I announced the unfortunate and immediate closing of Blackhart's Magic Theater as a result of COVID-19.

Here is my situation...


I opened Blackhart's in February 2020 with a LOT of local fanfare and community support . Wichita is an incredible city that loves to support local arts and when Blackhart's opened, Wichita proved that once again.  

Unfortunately, our time was cut short as the panic of COVID-19 hit the United States shortly after we opened our doors. Also unfortunate... our theater was only able to operate for a few weeks before the mandatory shutdown of the State of Kansas was put in place. We had to immediately cease all magic shows as well as our magic classes for kids (which really hurt). Without being able to open our doors, our income stopped immediately. Unfortunately... the rent, utilities and insurance for Blackhart's have kept accumulating. 


I invested almost every penny I could scrape together to open Blackhart's. I wanted to make it one of the most exciting new live-entertainment venues in the mid-west. I installed great sound and lighting... I purchased nice, cushy chairs... I installed a custom stage with a fancy velvet curtain similar to the one seen inside Hollywood's famous Magic Castle. I did all of it! I gave attention to everything because... IT WAS MY PASSION. It was something I wanted to do since I was a child.  

In the few weeks we were open, Blackhart's played host to some of the world's BEST traveling mystery performers including acts featured on ABC, CBS, FOX, CW and others!!! We hosted magic classes for kids, school shows, birthday parties and private events!!!


Well, 

I want to CONTINUE to do all of that in Wichita!!!!! And I am willing to FIGHT for it..... so, here I am on GoFundMe.

I take money very seriously. ESPECIALLY the money of other people. Should you give money to Blackhart's, I assure you that your money will be spent in the best way I know possible to keep Blackhart's alive for a very long time to come. The following is EXACTLY where your money will be applied... 

1) IMMEDIATE Back-rent to our landlords. While they are very kind landlords, they are not wealthy people and they have to make their payments on our building to the bank, so I need to get them rent for the last several months so Blackhart's is not evicted. 

2) Utilities, Insurance & Fees. These are bills that never stopped, unfortunately.

3) Performer Fees and Deposits. Part of the passion that drove me to open Blackhart's was the ability to provide traveling performers another mid-west based tour stop that could provide revenue for them as a performer. The last performer to appear on stage at Blackhart's was sadly, the week that the panic of COVID-19 hit HARD. Unfortunately, this performer was not paid in full as only a few people attended those shows. Also, we need a small budget to book acts for the immediate future. If Blackhart's is going to stay open... we need acts!  

4) Small Costs. As we re-open, there will be small, unforeseen costs along the way.

I personally commit to regularly updating our blog  with any updates related to the expenditure of funds raised from this GoFundMe campaign. I want you to know that your money is very well spent on keeping MAGIC alive in Wichita!

Thanks for anything you can give... hopefully we'll be back soon with shows, classes, birthday parties and more!!! 

Thanks for your time, your consideration and of course, the money you worked hard for. Hopefully we'll see you at a show very soon! 

Organizer

Michael Johnson
Organizer
Wichita, KS

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