Kick-off Convo & Reception

The evening begins at 4:30 p.m. at K Voelz Wines, where guests can meet, mingle and raise a glass to another year of independent cinema in Eastern Oregon. From there, the gathering will include an opportunity to tour the historic Liberty Theatre, currently undergoing an ambitious preservation and restoration effort led by The Liberty Theatre Foundation. Guests will get a closer look at the theater, learn about the restoration process and hear about the work underway to return this historic downtown space to community use. But EOFF also wants to use the occasion to listen. A Regional Conversation About the Future of Cinema Movie theaters—particularly independent, historic and rural cinemas—remain vital gathering places for communities, even as the ways audiences discover and experience movies continue to change. EOFF hopes Wednesday’s gathering can create an informal space for people working across the region to compare notes: What is working? What has changed? What challenges are theaters facing? And what opportunities exist for cinemas, festivals, filmmakers and communities to work together to keep the theatrical experience vibrant? We’re inviting regional cinema owners and operators, film exhibitors, filmmakers, industry professionals and anyone who simply loves going to the movies to be part of the conversation. The timing feels particularly meaningful in La Grande. While the Liberty Theatre Foundation works toward restoring one of the city’s historic cultural spaces, EOFF is also returning its festival screenings to downtown La Grande through its new partnership with The Granada Theatre, where the majority of #EOFF2026’s films will screen October 15–17. Wednesday night brings those threads together.