Lead, SD (May 28, 2025) — The historic Homestake Opera House is in many ways the heart of the town of Lead. The theater is home to multiple performances, concerts, and community gatherings throughout the year; it is also a vital hub during SURF’s annual citywide science festival, Neutrino Day.
The theater is promoting an ongoing capital campaign, aimed at restoring the historic facility to its full grandeur before a fire gutted the inside more than 40 years ago.
So, when Todd Jones, the executive director of the Opera House, mentioned to Kelly Kirk, the director of the neighboring Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center, that the theater would benefit from a new projector to show movies and presentations, Kirk started connecting dots.
“Two weeks after I talked to Kelly, she called to tell me that, ‘We’re on our way over with a projector, can you open the door for us?’ I was like what??” Jones said with a laugh.
According to Jones, this projector donation will expand the events the theater can offer—while also expanding public engagement and hopefully fundraising.
“I think it’s a game changer,” Jones said. “Actually, it will allow us to run films, movies, and that’s going to help us to generate more income so we can continue to work toward restoration of this amazing theater.”
Jones says this year, the Opera House capital campaign is entering a major push toward adding infrastructure upgrades essential to the theater’s future.
“The capital campaign kicked in 2019 and in 2025 we’re really focused on adding HVAC and a service elevator off the back of the stage. So, we’re hoping we can get that, at least the groundwork started on that this year,” Jones said.
The projector was available following a recent technology upgrade at the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center. The SURF information technology team identified it as a good match for the Opera House’s needs.
“Just glad that we were able to help, that we had the inventory to donate. We worked as a department to find something, and it’s great it worked out for the Opera House and for the community of Lead,” said Sean Crooks the information technology operations manager at SURF.
Brook Hanson, an information technology support technician at SURF, notes the high-end machine is fitted for the theater. It’s situated in the back of the balcony in the sound booth, a full 70 feet from the screen, and the picture is crystal clear. “It’s certainly making better use of its long-distance capabilities than before, so that’s nice,” Hanson said.
Those interested in supporting the ongoing capital campaign for the Homestake Opera House or who might just want to catch a movie, local concert, or play can find upcoming events on the theater’s website.
