A movie theater in Maine will be given away in an essay-writing contest

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Have you ever wanted to own your very own movie theater? Well, you're in luck, because the owner of the Temple Theatre in Houlton, Maine is going to be giving the theater away to the winner of an essay-writing contest. No, you're not back in high-school. Mike Hurley has attempted to sell his theater before but unfortunately wasn't able to find many takers, so he took the next logical step and organized this essay-writing contest. Hurley won't be losing any money giving the theater away in this fashion as he'll be collecting a non-refundable entry fee of $100 for each essay he receives. If he doesn't reach a minimum of 3,500 entries, he'll refund the money, but if he does, he'll have received his original asking price (or more).

So, what do you have to do if you want to enter? Lets take a look at the contest description from Hurley himself:

“Win the Temple Theatre in Houlton Maine” is a skill based, judged competition in which a person entering, in accordance with the rules set forth herein, will submit an original essay, along with an entry form, contest entry fee of $100, and two self-addressed stamped envelopes. The winning entry will be judged on meeting the technical standards, writing structure, content, quality of expression, creativity, and understanding of the essay question: “Why would you be the best person (or family or group) to be the new owner of the Temple Theatre in historic downtown Houlton, Maine?"

There you have, if you've always dreamed of owning and operating a small-town theater and have the essay skills to back it up, this is as good a chance as you're going to get. The contest was set to conclude on January 15, 2016, but has recently been extended for at least two more weeks. For more information about the contest as well as the theater itself, you can head to the Temple Theatre website.