Image Credit: CHP Architects

By Aaron Schulze

Kamloops Performing Arts Centre

Kamloops Centre for the Arts referendum won’t be on the municipal election ballot

Aug 9, 2022 | 11:05 AM

KAMLOOPS — A referendum on a new performing arts centre (PAC) in Kamloops will not be on the voters’ ballot for the 2022 B.C. municipal elections.

In an email to supporters Tuesday (Aug. 9) morning, the Kamloops Centre for the Arts Society says it will seek action on the City’s Recreation Master Plan – and its identified priority for a PAC – once Kamloops’ new mayor and council are in place.

“Unfortunately, the limitations of the Sagebrush Theatre that existed before the pandemic still persist,” Brenda Aynsley, Kamloops Centre for the Arts Society’s interim chair writes. “Anyone who attended Western Canada Theatre’s production of The Wizard of Oz may have noticed the set pieces that were stored outside under white tents. That the basics of a production cannot be stored inside the Sagebrush Theatre clearly demonstrates the inadequacy of our city’s current facilities and the critical need for new performing arts spaces.”

Additionally, the Kamloops Centre for the Arts Society says the Kamloops Sports Council agrees that the need for a new PAC is the first and foremost priority.

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Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kamloops residents were preparing to vote in a referendum on a PAC on April 4, 2020. However, the vote on the PAC planned for property bounded by Seymour Street, Fourth Avenue and St. Paul Street was postponed due to the pandemic.

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 120,000 sq. ft.

The B.C. municipal elections are set for Oct. 15, 2022.