Friends of the Farris, Inc. is a Missouri Not-for-Profit 501(c)3 organization. Friends of the Farris was organized at a meeting of interested persons on July 10, 1995 held at the Eagleton Civic Center in Richmond.  At this first organizational meeting, a Board of Directors was formed and $7,000 in pledges was recorded to investigate the feasibility of purchasing and renovating the Farris Theatre.  By the time the group was officially incorporated on September 12, 1995, $8,600 in cash was collected, of which only $500 was pledged at the July meeting; an interest free five-year loan of $22,500 was obtained to purchase the building; and total pledges stood at $34,000.  The renovation was complete, and the building reopened on January 14, 1999 to a sellout crowd, just 42 months and 5 days after the organizational meeting.

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Built in 1901, The Farris Theatre is a state-of-the-art historic treasure owned by Friends of the Farris, Inc. a not-for-profit 501c3 corporation.