Ebertfest has been held in Champaign since its start in 1999. Last year was supposed to be the end of the annual event, but fans wouldn't let that happen.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - It's the end of an era for Roger Ebert's Film Festival at the Virginia Theatre. Ebertfest has been held in Champaign since its start in 1999. Last year was supposed to be the end of the annual event, but fans wouldn't let that happen. 

"The community support has been tremendous," said Nate Kohn, the director of Ebertfest. "We actually ended the festival, and there was such an outcry from our audience members that Chaz and I talked about it and decided we'll do one more. And here we are, and it's the largest audience we've had in years." 

Kohn and Chaz Ebert, the cofounder and host of Ebertfest, spent months gathering the funding to host the final festival on a smaller scale than normal. But Kohn said it is worth it to have a happy final goodbye to a tradition that has meant so much. 

"It's really bittersweet to think about saying goodbye," Kohn said. "I'm scared for the end. I'm not sure what it's going to feel like." 

Roger Ebert's statue still stands proudly in front of the Virginia Theatre. He is shown sitting in a theater seat with his signature thumbs up. The sign in front of it says Ebert "changed the way people thought about movies." 

While Ebertfest is coming to an end, it's not the end of Ebert's legacy in Champaign. His statue will remain. Kohn said for those still looking to remember Ebert, the simplest thing to do is go watch a movie. 

"Keep going to the movies, keep going to theaters to see the movies," Kohn said. "One of the things that Roger really championed was movies in real movie theaters, surrounded by real people and a giant audience. And so what we can do, I think, is just to support this industry." 

Ebertfest is happening on April 17 and 18. Each day, there will be five individual movies playing. 

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