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Theatre group reaches legacy fund goal

Pictured above: Cranbrook Community Theatre Society (CCT) President Peter Schalk and Director Melodie Hull (centre) flanked by Community Foundation of the Kootenay Rockies Board members Lisa Barnes (left) and Carol Hatala (right).
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Pictured above: Cranbrook Community Theatre Society (CCT) President Peter Schalk and Director Melodie Hull (centre) flanked by Community Foundation of the Kootenay Rockies Board members Lisa Barnes (left) and Carol Hatala (right).

Pictured above: Cranbrook Community Theatre Society (CCT) President Peter Schalk and Director Melodie Hull (centre) flanked by Community Foundation of the Kootenay Rockies Board members Lisa Barnes (left) and Carol Hatala (right).

In early 2018 Cranbrook Community Theatre Society (CCT) established their Legacy Fund through the Community Foundation of the Kootenay Rockies with a $600.00 initial contribution. The original goal for their Legacy fund was to reach $10,000 in five years and that goal has been reached in just under two years!

Donations have come from individuals and businesses and include in-memoriam donations as well as general donations in support of the fund. Numerous donations were received in memory of Cranbrook luminary, Bud Abbott as well as Byron Olson and Roxanne Harper, all of whom were actively and significantly engaged with local live theatre arts.

Some donations were matched, as was the case when Jean-Ann Debreceni, a Cranbrook Community Theatre Lifetime member, was honoured with Cranbrook’s 2017 Sustainable Community Builder Award. This distinction provides a five-hundred-dollar contribution to a charity of the recipient’s choice (CCT) and was matched twice: first by an individual donor and then, most recently, by the East Kootenay Community Credit Union.

According to Michele Bates, Community Foundation of the Kootenay Rockies Board President, “The Cranbrook Community Theatre is a key part of the cultural fabric of our community. The Cranbrook Community Theatre Legacy Fund will ensure that CCT’s programs and facility will continue to enrich our community, now and forever.”

The interest from the now permanently invested capital will be available to the Cranbrook Community Theatre every year to support operations and programs. As dedicated stewards of the Studio/Stage Door heritage building, CCT has infused close to one million dollars into the maintenance and upgrading of the venue since 1974. The popular landmark is a community hub for an eclectic array of programs, presentations and instruction. The Stage Door has presented more than one hundred and fifty theatrical shows produced by CCT volunteers, involving hundreds of area citizens, many of which have been recognized at numerous provincial drama festivals.

“The Cranbrook Community Theatre Society would like to thank everyone who provided funding for this project,” said Peter Schalk, CCT President. “This will help us to continue to maintain and steward our heritage building, the Studio/Stage Door and bring theatre “to the community and by the community.”