A brightly lit clearing with a gathering of people is surrounded by a dark, tree-filled forest illuminated by warm yellow and cool blue lights.

Check made out to Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival
Address to send check: 608 W Bertrand Ave, St Marys, KS 66536

Friends, The Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival has brought outdoor classical theater to our community every year since 2010. Four years ago, we also began offering the Christkindlmarkt, not only to add another great event, but also to generate more revenue to stay afloat. After many years of consumer price inflation that our own ticket prices have not reflected, we are out of money and cannot continue without immediate help. We still have many expenses to cover before we can open the doors this year.&nbsp; Each year, since the beginning of our existence, we have subsisted entirely on the generosity of our donors, our gate revenues, and our pub proceeds alone. Being a non-profit, any &quot;extra&quot; money left over and above break-even has been reinvested into adding booths, making improvements, or maintaining the current infrastructure as necessary. No board members or officers have ever drawn a salary, consequently, tens of thousands of volunteer hours from those most closely involved have gone into growing the festival over the years. Thankfully we were able to add our first paid employee last year while maintaining our break even status with our growing ticket sales.&nbsp; We are now however one fundraising cycle behind before even considering the many pressing maintenance projects and improvements that need to be made. The overall vision remains the same that the grounds would become a permanent outdoor stage space and completed artisan village capable of hosting a variety of classical arts and cultural events for the region. &nbsp; We have always tried to offer very good value for our entrance price and have raised prices very little over the years. Similar events would never offer three nights for the price of less than one ticket as we do. While our prices have remained consistent, the cost of goods has not For instance, according to the BLS website, since 2010 lumber prices have increased by 127% while alcohol prices have increased by 35%. These are two of our largest expenditures every year. Out ticket sales have moved very little in that time, and we are now struggling to cover expenses.&nbsp; While we continue to pursue new avenues to increase our revenue, we are asking our local friends and longtime supporters to step up today to fund this appeal so the festival can continue. Every gift&mdash;$25, $50, $100, or more&mdash;directly covers the costs that keep the festival and Christkindlmarkt in our community. Any money received above the festival&#39;s immediate needs will be put toward capital improvement projects as always. Please contact us if you wish to see the numbers on which our break-even budget is based.&nbsp; Please give what you can! Thank you for 16 years of support. We wish to share this tradition with you for many more. Sincerely,&nbsp;Benjamin MoatsFHSF President&nbsp;

Friends, The Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival has brought outdoor classical theater to our community every year since 2010. Four years ago, we also began offering the Christkindlmarkt, not only to add another great event, but also to generate more revenue to stay afloat. After many years of consumer price inflation that our own ticket prices have not reflected, we are out of money and cannot continue without immediate help. We still have many expenses to cover before we can open the doors this year.  Each year, since the beginning of our existence, we have subsisted entirely on the generosity of our donors, our gate revenues, and our pub proceeds alone. Being a non-profit, any "extra" money left over and above break-even has been reinvested into adding booths, making improvements, or maintaining the current infrastructure as necessary. No board members or officers have ever drawn a salary, consequently, tens of thousands of volunteer hours from those most closely involved have gone into growing the festival over the years. Thankfully we were able to add our first paid employee last year while maintaining our break even status with our growing ticket sales.  We are now however one fundraising cycle behind before even considering the many pressing maintenance projects and improvements that need to be made. The overall vision remains the same that the grounds would become a permanent outdoor stage space and completed artisan village capable of hosting a variety of classical arts and cultural events for the region.   We have always tried to offer very good value for our entrance price and have raised prices very little over the years. Similar events would never offer three nights for the price of less than one ticket as we do. While our prices have remained consistent, the cost of goods has not For instance, according to the BLS website, since 2010 lumber prices have increased by 127% while alcohol prices have increased by 35%. These are two of our largest expenditures every year. Out ticket sales have moved very little in that time, and we are now struggling to cover expenses.  While we continue to pursue new avenues to increase our revenue, we are asking our local friends and longtime supporters to step up today to fund this appeal so the festival can continue. Every gift—$25, $50, $100, or more—directly covers the costs that keep the festival and Christkindlmarkt in our community. Any money received above the festival's immediate needs will be put toward capital improvement projects as always. Please contact us if you wish to see the numbers on which our break-even budget is based.  Please give what you can! Thank you for 16 years of support. We wish to share this tradition with you for many more. Sincerely, Benjamin MoatsFHSF President

US$11,650.00