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It’s showtime, folks! Liberty Theatre reopens after seven-month closure

Historic downtown Camas theater implements COVID-19 safety measures, kicks off with 1980s classics 'The Goonies' and 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back'

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Anna Presley (right) and Joe Costa (left, white shirt) and Lucas Kellum, all of Ridgefield, order food at the box office off the Liberty Theatre in downtown Camas on Friday, Oct. 9. The trio was the first to show up for the Liberty Theatre's first show in seven months -- the Goonies, which showed at 4 p.m. Friday. The historic theater, which closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is now able to seat 75 people per show, with safety restrictions such as required face coverings and new concession rules, thanks to Gov. Jay Inslee's Oct. 6 changes to the state's Safe Start reopening plan, which loosened restrictions for theaters, restaurants, realtors, libraries and more throughout Washington state. (Photos by Kelly Moyer/Post-Record)

The historic Liberty Theatre in downtown Camas opened its doors to movie-goers Friday, Oct. 9, for the first time in nearly seven months.

“It’s so huge,” Carrie Schulstad, executive director of the Downtown Camas Association, said of the theater’s reopening. “We’ve had our restaurants open, but we haven’t had our beloved theater. When I got the news from the governor’s office, I was literally dancing around. It was such a happy moment.”

Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced a new round of reopening rules on Oct. 6, which loosened restrictions on everything from movie theaters to libraries.

Under the governor’s new reopening guidelines, theaters are able to have 25 percent occupancy for counties in Phase 2 of Inslee’s Safe Start plan — that includes Clark County and the city of Camas — and 50 percent in Phase 3. Theaters must maintain 6 feet of distance between households and require patrons to wear face coverings at all times when they are not eating or drinking.

The governor’s news caught Liberty Theatre owner Rand Thornsley off guard.

“I was totally surprised,” Thornsley told the Post-Record on Friday. “I didn’t expect to be able to reopen right now.”

Thornsley said he and his three employees scrambled to get ready for the weekend opening, which kicked off with a 4 p.m. matinee showing of the 1985 classic, “The Goonies,” and 7:15 showing of another 1980s cult favorite, “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.”

“It’s a whole different ballgame here,” Thornsley said. “It feels like we’re opening for the very first time.”

To make a night out to the movies as safe as possible for patrons and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, Thornsley has implemented several changes. Movie-goers must wear face coverings at all times in the theater, except when they are taking a drink or eating a snack, and they are not permitted to congregate in the theater’s lobby.

Tickets, which are capped at 75 people per show, will be sold online and come with assigned seating. Movie-goers will line up outside the theater, located on Northeast Fourth Avenue in the heart of historic downtown Camas, and show their online ticket purchase identification at the box office before entering the theater and finding their seats.

Several rows in the theater are roped-off, to help keep movie-goers physically distanced. Once seats are assigned in a row, the theater will implement a buffer of three seats to also help with distancing. People craving popcorn, soda or other concessions can order those items at the box office and theater employees will bring the goodies to a table, located in the rear of the theater, then call for the person to come and retrieve their popcorn, drinks and/or candy.

Thornsley said Friday that the first two shows had nearly sold out. He was pleased, but said Friday that he worried about people getting to the theater on time to find their assigned seats.

“They may have thought, because they purchased tickets online, that they didn’t have to get here early,” Thornsley said. “But it will take longer to do it this way.”

Late movie-goers will not be seated once the lights go down, Thornsley said.

For now, the theater will be open on a limited schedule, with tickets sold online. To learn more, and to see showtimes or purchase tickets, visit camasliberty.com.

A sign outside the Liberty Theatre in downtown Camas on Friday, Oct. 9, advertises "The Goonies" and "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," the first movies to be shown inside the historic theater since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March.
A sign outside the Liberty Theatre in downtown Camas on Friday, Oct. 9, advertises "The Goonies" and "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," the first movies to be shown inside the historic theater since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March. (Photos by Kelly Moyer/Post-Record) Photo
This inside of the Liberty Theatre in downtown sits empty, with several rows blocked off due to COVID-19 restrictions, one hour before the theater's first show in seven months on Friday, Oct. 9.
This inside of the Liberty Theatre in downtown sits empty, with several rows blocked off due to COVID-19 restrictions, one hour before the theater's first show in seven months on Friday, Oct. 9. Photo