HERO — Help Entertain and Restore Organization — and movie fans gather in front of the Webster Theater to make it official: the movie house in downtown Webster City will reopen on May 2. — Daily Freeman-Journal photo by Kent Bailey/OHP Marketing

HERO prevailed.

The biggest sign is the one right above this story.

With passion, sweat and a lot of funding from multiple sources, the historic movie house that was seriously damaged in late 2023 by the fire next door is about to reopen.

This time, the official grand opening will be on Friday, May 2.

HERO — Help Entertain and Restore Organization — the local group that restored the ailing theater the first time, had to turn around and do it all over again when fire on November 29, 2023, engulfed 608 Second Street, its immediate neighbor to the east. Smoke and water took a heavy toll on the movie house.

Fire departments from Fort Dodge, Eagle Grove, Duncombe, Stratford, Blairsburg, Stanhope and Williams supported Webster City Fire in battling the blaze with three ladder trucks and a ton of manpower.

HERO board member Kay Ross said the board hopes it can host those firefighters at the theater sometime this week to say thanks for saving it from flames. The board will also play host on a separate night to the many workers who helped HERO rebuild.

The Webster City Area Chamber of Commerce and The Daily Freeman-Journal are also putting their heads together to throw a “Welcome Home” party for the theater. That event will be Friday, May 23, from 5 to 7 p.m. More details about the event will be made public later.

In the meantime, you, too, can still be a hero. Mail checks to HERO, 610 Second Street, Webster City, IA 50595, donate online at its website, www.webstertheater.org/donate, or use the QR code on the building’s front door downtown. This is an opportunity to support the movie house into the future.

So, even though HERO isn’t quite sure what movie will appear on the screen, the plan is to pop the popcorn and open the doors.

The show starts at 7 p.m.