Goodbye, but hopefully see you later

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the tragic news of a small movie theater in Fort Stockton — a small town in West Texas — having to shut its doors just after 21 months of business.

On Dec. 15, 2023, the theater announced on Facebook that the city decided to terminate its lease contract due to failure to establish an amicable landlord-tenant relationship and according to the owners, a mother-son duo, the reasoning given is “a political move and admittedly an unjust, abuse of power reason for termination.” There were more than 200 comments on that post from community members in disbelief that an experience was being taken away from them.

A day after the announcement was made, the owners were guests on a local podcast to discuss the issue and answer questions that the community had. Creating more awareness, residents petitioned for their city leaders to put an item on the agenda for the city council’s first regular meeting of the new year.

But that did not happen.

While residents still showed up to the meeting, hoping that they could plead their case for Panther Pictures to stay open, the Fort Stockton City Council only allows citizens to address the council regarding matters on the consent or regular agenda. Therefore, since the movie theater’s contract was not on the agenda, residents were forced to remain quiet.

Last week, the mother of the duo, a local high school teacher lovingly called Mrs. B, shared that they started cleaning out the theater and lobby. What was once filled brim to brim with unique movie-specific decorations for each showing, games for weekly Teen Night, classic velvet ropes and more is now to the bare bones.

As I have shared before, going to the movies is more than just going to the movies — it’s an experience. They spark our imaginations to come to life, helping us believe that anything and everything is possible. They transport us to other dimensions, galaxies far, far away, mystical wardrobes and alternate realities for us to escape into. They give us instant excitement from the moment that we purchase our tickets. With movies comes the butter-filled popcorn and the shared laughs, tears and joy with our friends and families in the theatre.

And for small towns like Fort Stockton, having a local movie theater is rare and it’s something for families to enjoy together.

But after the community’s countless emails to city council and social media posts, the fate of Panther Pictures has not changed.

This is goodbye for now. I hope that you continue chasing your dream.

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If there is an issue, development or decision that is happening in your city that you don’t agree with, I encourage you to reach out to your city leaders and share your opinions with them. Show up to city government meetings and sign up to speak during public comments!

Navarro is the editor of the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch. She can be reached at [email protected]