Image Credit: CHP Architects

By Jill Sperling

Performing Arts Centre

Supporters of proposed Kamloops Centre for the Arts remain hopeful vision will be realized

Jun 25, 2020 | 4:41 PM

KAMLOOPS — Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kamloops residents were preparing to vote in a referendum on a performing arts centre.

If approved, the venue would have provided theatre, rehearsal and studio space as well as administrative offices.

The plan appeared to be well-received by the community, and a referendum date was set for April 4, but as COVID-19 cases began to increase across the province, the referendum was postponed.

For the Kamloops Centre for the Arts Society (KCAS), this meant all plans were put on pause.

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“We’ve sort of been on idle,” said KCAS Chair Norm Daley. “We’ve met regularly, at least once a month, talking about where things are at and what possibilities we have of moving it forward. But, you know, in today’s world there’s just so many bigger things that are taking precedent that we’re taking a pause and trying to decide where we’re going to go from here.”

On March 18, B.C.’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Selina Robinson announced a postponement of the referendum due to concerns around COVID-19.

A ‘yes’ vote would have allowed the City of Kamloops to borrow up to $45 million for the $70 million project. The centre would have been built at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Seymour Street at a size of 120,000 sq. ft.

“Really, I think that when you look at the restrictions in terms of not allowing more than 50 people in one place, it wouldn’t really rest well with the taxpayers to ask them to invest in a facility that we don’t have a need for immediately,” said Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian.

Christian is among those in the community disappointed with the indefinite postponement.

“No, there is no intention to pursue the referendum… and that is of grave personal disappointment to myself.”

Borrowing for a performing arts centre was voted down in 2015, but this time the KCAS was expecting more support for the project.

“Obviously, we were coming up to what we thought was going to be a successful referendum and were cautiously optimistic that we were going to get the vote going the right way,” Daley said.

While the April 4 vote did not happen, the needs of local arts organizations have not simply disappeared.

Western Canada Theatre (WCT) Artistic Director James MacDonald says the campaign for the centre helped inform the community of challenges within the arts community.

“I would say that we come out of it really, really pleased at that outpouring of support and knowing that people know the issues that we face as a company when it comes to our space needs, the issues the whole community faces in the limitations of arts spaces in Kamloops right now.”

The new centre would have provided a much larger theatre and rehearsal space than what WCT currently has to work with in the Pavilion and Sagebrush Theatres.

“Sagebrush is a wonderful theatre, it’s had a lot of good use out of it, but again, it’s not a modern theatre,” MacDonald said. “It was built for a particular size of production and particular size of company that just doesn’t exist on a modern level anymore.”

With the COVID-19 situation ongoing, the KCAS is unable to predict when a referendum might be rescheduled, but they have not yet given up hope.

“One of the hopes that I have is that as we get down the road and the government is looking for opportunities,” Daley said.

“Maybe they will be looking for infrastructure funding to get people back to work, to make projects such as this a reality.”