New reclining seats coming to Charlestowne movie theater

When is the last time you dozed off in a movie theater? Well, it might happen again soon.

The holidays mean festive times, but they also mean movie time. Thus, the Classic Cinemas at Charlestowne Mall in St. Charles is making changes at the right time in its 18 theaters as we move headlong into the holiday season.

The company is installing new seats, featuring motorized recliners and head rests in every seat in each theater.

Wouldn't that mean a moviegoer might be inclined to fall asleep?

"They are really comfortable," Classic Cinemas CEO Chris Johnson said of his theater's new seats. "If you fall asleep, you'll have to see the movie again," he joked.

But it is no joke that Johnson is pouring a ton of money into the theater, upgrading the seating and planning to also install larger screens after all of the new seats are in place. By Dec. 22, most of the larger auditoriums in the complex will have the new seats, and they all will have them by early next year.

"When it is all completely done, it will be spectacular," Johnson said of the theater complex facelift, which includes remodeled hallways featuring 28 large portraits of the Tri-Cities area.

"The only thing we are waiting on is the lobby, because we are waiting for the mall owners to 100 percent determine what they are going to do," Johnson said.

That's been a perplexing issue, of course, but one Johnson is locking away in his "positive thoughts" vault.

"The hard part right now is convincing people that we are putting this money into the theater and we are not going anywhere," Johnson added. "We extended our lease for 20 years and are 100 percent bullish on the theater and the mall."

In taking a long-term view, Johnson said the theaters should continue to do well no matter how the mall plans work out in terms of keeping the key anchors - the theaters, Carson's and Von Maur - in place.

"I know they are talking about taking the mall down and redoing it, and putting up some townhomes, so we don't want to do something to our lobby, then have to do it over again," Johnson said. "We are all in on this, and hoping it pays off."

It's about the walk:

Geneva's annual Christmas Walk is upon us again on Friday night, and we certainly haven't missed many of these in the past 30-plus years.

Yes, we essentially do the same thing each year. Walk down Third Street and chat with friends and neighbors, duck in and out of a few stores and go to the Geneva History Museum to vote for our favorite Christmas trees showcasing various local service organizations and charities.

Then we make our way through the crowded Little Traveler, even though we have been there a million times. And we like to stop at my wife's happy place, Flair on Third. She also never skips a chance to go into Cocoon.

We like to stop and say hello to Jamie Vargo in her dance studio on State Street, and maybe even join in on a few dances at her studio's party that night.

All in all, it's called tradition. That means you just basically do the same stuff over and over - and wouldn't have it any other way.

Time to show off center:

As part of a sparkling $4.25 million gift from Dellora and Lester Norris 42 years ago, the John B. Norris Recreation Center on the campus of St. Charles East High School stood out as the envy of other area school districts.

It was that nice, that big and that new.

Over time, the concept of operating it as a not-for-profit operation took its toll and the place started showing its wear from community, park district and school district use.

But a park district initiative to get it up to speed that started last year has resulted in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and opening celebration to take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, to unveil the center's new look.

Of course, racquetball players hated to see their courts go as part of the process, but a new mini gym for court activities and a cycling/cardio/yoga studio have taken their place.

This place was in need of a makeover and we're glad to see it remain an important part of the arrangement between the park and school districts.

As a way to create interest in this celebration, the center is offering deals on memberships that day, as well as prize giveaways for various tennis lesson packages.

Need the artists:

It's easy to admire the 25 decorated fiberglass bulldogs spread throughout downtown Batavia each spring and summer. That also makes it easy to forget that someone has to come forward and design and paint these works of art.

The Batavia Foundation for Education Excellence, the Batavia Parks Foundation and the Batavia Public Library Foundation are asking artists to come forward to participate in Bulldogs Unleashed 2018.

Regional artists are invited to participate by submitting designs for the bulldogs by going to BulldogsUnleashed.org. The deadline to submit a design is Dec. 31.

Sponsors and owners of the bulldogs will select designs and work with a chosen artist, who will be given some up-front money for supplies. The artist will also get 20 percent of the auction price for the pieces auctioned off, while those purchased outright will net the artist $300 for a 30-inch bulldog and $500 for a 44-inch bulldog.

The painted bulldogs will be on display in downtown Batavia from June to August 2018.

dheun@sbcglobal.net