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Chaz Ebert, right, introduces the special guests that were present at the opening gala of the 23rd Ebertfest.
CHAMPAIGN — Would you be interested in attending one final Ebertfest in 2026?
That’s the question festival co-founder Chaz Ebert asked Virginia Theatre patrons in a brief email Saturday night, less than two months after announcing “the bittersweet news that 2025 marked the festival’s last year in Champaign-Urbana.”
On Saturday, she wrote: “We’ve heard back from you and we know that you would like to have One Last Dance,” adding that the Virginia is holding April 17-19 for the festival should there be a 27th edition.
Fans were urged to fill out a two-question survey by next Friday, which asks if they’d attend a three-day festival with a different format than usual (full days on Friday and Saturday, a half day plus a Steak ‘N Shake farewell party on Sunday) and whether they’d like to be contacted about sponsorship opportunities.
In a September letter from Ebert and UI College of Media Dean Tracy Sulkin, it was announced that “financial considerations facing both universities and film festivals” had forced organizers to to reimagine the future of an event that had that has brought A-listers (John Malkovich, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Norman Lear), up-and-comers and unsung stars to town for screenings and conversations since launching at the Virginia in 1999.
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