Illinois drive-in theater gets money to stay open

GIBSON CITY, Ill. (AP) — An eastern Illinois drive-in theater that had faced closure now says it will be able to stay open thanks to a $10,000 donation.

The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-In in Gibson City tried all of last year to raise the $165,000 it said it needed to update to digital projectors. The drive-in was forced to transition to digital because increasingly those are the only movies available. Without the equipment the theater planned to close.

Harvest Moon manager Ben Harroun tells The News-Gazette in Champaign (http://bit.ly/YAsbBc ) that Neal Tire in Gibson City donated the final $10,000 on Tuesday.

Now the seasonal theater plans to reopen next month.

More than 800 people and businesses donated money to help keep the Harvest Moon open. Gibson City is about 30 miles north of Champaign.

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Information from: The News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com