Guests clustered around tangy aromas of South African wines and sweet smells of tongol tuna salad as the Hippodrome State Theatre filled for its cinema's birthday celebration.
The theater hosted the 30th anniversary of the Hippodrome Cinema on Saturday night with an evening of food, wine and music.
Hippodrome State Theatre, a theater in downtown Gainesville, is home to the cinema, which opened in 1982 to showcase independent and commercial films.
"This event is a landmark event, not only for the Hippodrome, but also for Gainesville," said Jessica Hurov, a spokeswoman for the Hippodrome. "Thirty years of independent cinema is truly remarkable."
The Hippodrome Cinema ordered 150 wine glasses for the guests, and 222 tickets were sold.
The tickets were $25 in advance and $35 at the door. The proceeds will help fund improvements to the cinema's sound system.
The food was gone within seconds, said Brad Hersch, a marketing intern at the Hippodrome Theatre.
"I literally blinked, and eight trays of pizza were gone," he said.
Shirley Lasseter, director and co-founder of the Hippodrome Cinema, said most of the food and wine at the event was donated by Ward's Supermarket and other sponsors.
Lasseter said her biggest challenge over the last three decades has been to create excitement and motivate people to come to the cinema rather than stay home and watch movies from the comfort of their sofas.
"With a great, smart community and smart, cultured people striving to learn new things and gain new perspective, we try to fill their void," Lasseter said. "But if we don't continue to grow a new audience and engage them, eventually we'll cease to be."
Hersch said students do not take advantage of the great landmark.
"More students should take opportunity of the cultural landmark that's just in their backyard," said Hersch, a 20-year-old English and advertising junior.
Lasseter said the experience of watching a film at the cinema is more engaging than one at a movie theater because there are often discussions following the films.
She said the cinema tries to invite speakers to talk about a particular issue and sometimes holds Skype chats with film directors to talk about their films after the screening.
"You just can't beat it," Lasseter said.
Russell Welker from Tree of Life Wine, right, pours a sample of Merlot for Erik and Marcy Bayard at the Hippodrome's 30th anniversary party on Saturday night.
