Kickstarter campaigns launch dreams

Two Sisters projects are off the ground thanks to the crowd-source fundraising power of Kickstarter.

Artist and author Dennis McGregor exceeded his goal of $24,420 to get his book "Dream Again" printed, securing $26,791 from 452 backers. In a furious last-minute push, 186 backers put The Belfry community center and music venue over the top in its $34,500 fundraising effort to pay for code-mandated modifications and venue improvements.

McGregor told The Nugget he expects to have books in hand by the middle to end of June.

He expressed appreciation for all the supporters who backed his project. He and his partner, Kimry Jelen, worked assiduously to cultivate a broad networking campaign, but McGregor noted that, "in retrospect, it looks like most of our stuff came from people who actually know us."

Angeline Rhett, owner of The Belfry, described herself as "obviously excited and thankful ... humbled that everybody sees my vision and trusts me that I can pull it off. That really buoys me in a huge way."

She said she's still nailing down exactly what will be required by the City of Sisters to bring the venue fully up to code. She plans to use half of the funds raised to pay on the cost of those improvements, and the other half to improve lighting, sound and acoustics in the venue.

Rhett also noted that she deeply appreciated the outpouring of community support, whether it came with a donation attached or was a simple pat on the back.

"It was quite overwhelming, I must say," she reflected.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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