Fiesta Theatre in Cortez will likely reopen in June.

“We’re finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Allen Theatres President Russell Allen.

A couple of challenges remain, however.

The theater needs to hire a new manager, and “theatrical-only” films are in short supply.

“Our product to put on screen is pretty thin,” Allen said.

That might change on Memorial Day weekend, when Disney’s “Cruella” and “A Quiet Place Part II” are set to premiere.

The Cortez theater shut down in March 2020 amid the coronavirus. It reopened late last summer but shut down again after a few weeks.

Allen Theatres has reopened a location in Durango and Farmington.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday followed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which loosened indoor mask-wearing recommendations for those who have been fully vaccinated.

Polis added that businesses may require patrons to wear masks or provide proof of full vaccination.

Allen intends to follow the rules of local jurisdictions when it comes to reopening the theaters and having “commonsense” protocols such as sneeze guards and thorough cleaning routines.

“By the end of June it looks like there probably won’t be anything happening more with this COVID thing,” Allen said. “I’m very happy to see that coming to an end, and maybe we can get back to our lives again after this close to 18-month period of madness.”

Hiring a new manager remains the theater’s biggest hurdle. It’s a problem the theater has not had in years past.

“We don’t have anybody to run the theater at this moment in time,” Allen said.

For those interested in outdoors viewing, the Piñon Project will host children’s movies once a month in Veterans Park from May through August .

The free movies start at 7:30 p.m. Viewers are encouraged to bring chairs, blankets or sleeping bags.

The films to be shown are as follows: