It takes a community to keep a great arts venue alive and kicking.
The building that is now the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons turns 90 next year and, understandably, it had been getting a little ragged around the edges. But, following a community-wide fundraising effort:
• There’s a new roof, courtesy of $40,000 from the Town of Gibsons.
• The first phase of a new lighting system is being installed, with more than $21,000 in seed money from the Sunshine Coast Community Forest Legacy Fund.
• An upgraded heat, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system will be in place, courtesy of the Sunshine Coast Community Foundation.
• And there are improved outdoor ramps, deck, and a roof over the greenroom entrance, thanks to a grant from the SCRD.
It was the current board of directors of the The Gibsons Heritage Landing Society – which runs the building – who ventured out to drum up the contributions, led by president Mac Dodge.
“This board has worked hard and we’ve made all these changes inside and out so that the community can have a freshly updated hall to do their art,” Dodge said in an interview. “It’s really about supporting local artists, from the little five-year-old dance students, to the Driftwood Players, to the Sunshine Coast Film Society.”
Dodge also acknowledges the dedicated work of the society’s members, who both make donations and dig in to do the essential tasks like ushering at the 146-seat theatre, which has something going on nearly 200 days a year.
Now a Designated Heritage Building, it was originally constructed in 1929 as the Women’s Institute Hall, which in the 1930s “was a busy place where dramas, basketball games, town meetings, bazaars, bake sales, dances and fairs were held,” the Playhouse says on its website.
The renovations are wrapping up as several board members are completing their terms, including treasurer Cathie Keener, secretary Wendy McGowan and – after seven years at the helm – Dodge himself.
“It’s not a complete change. It’s one of those transition years, when part of the board turns over,” he said. “We’re trying to make the transition as smooth as possible.”
Although new blood might well come from within the society’s current membership, Dodge said other Coast residents are more than welcome to join, “and keep up the good work of providing such a vital space for the arts.”
The AGM will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. in the Playhouse at 662 North Road, “so please come, consider becoming a member, a director and a volunteer,” he added.
As for Dodge, a retired university-level theatre and film instructor, he will use his new-found free time to do what he loves: “More acting. I’ll also be able to get into Vancouver more often to do auditions.”
