Key City Theatre officially raised their new curtains on Tuesday, March 29 with a gala and concert to thank the community for their support.
For the past few years Key City has been renovating their building, taking advantage of a forced shut-down due to the pandemic. Part of their efforts involved purchasing and installing new curtains, at a cost of $75,000.
The ‘Raise the Curtain’ campaign began a few years back, and as of Tuesday the curtains are installed and ready to once again welcome performers from across the globe.
“Isn’t it nice to be in the same room with other people?” Landon Elliott, President of the Board of Directors said at Tuesday’s gala. “You know, I have to thank everyone - we’re at a point where we’ve gone through two years of very tough times. Changing dynamics, trying to figure out what we’re going to do for staffing, figure out what we’re going to do for upgrades. And the people in this room are the reason why we are here today.”
He said that over the past two years, there has been $3.56 million invested into the building.
“A lot of it you won’t see, it’s in the background. The mechanical has been completely re-done, the stage re-done, the curtains re-done, floors re-done. We have accessible bathrooms…” he said. “We’re really trying to make the experience of coming to the theatre and being part of the arts more accessible for everyone. It really comes down to all of the people that are supporting us.”
He thanked each and every person and organization that has donated time and money into making the renovations and new curtains possible. He also thanked the staff at Key City for their continued hard work.
“When we started to look at the project, we did a fundraising effort, and a few of you know it from a few years ago, the raise the curtain raffle,” Elliott said. “It was a couple-month-long project and there were hundreds of people who put in hours and money, funds, it all came together because of them.”
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Just before the new curtains were pulled back in front of an audience for the first time, Elliott thanked some of the top donors including, the Western Communities Foundation which donated $5,000, Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance which donated $10,000, the Rotary Club of Cranbrook with $5,000, the Rick and Marg Jensen Foundation with $5,000, and Cranbrook Sunrise Rotary which donated $10,000.
Galen Olstead, Managing Director of Key City Theatre, also thanked some of the other groups that have made the revitalization of the space possible: School District 5, the City of Cranbrook, The Regional District of East Kootenay, the Government of Canada, the Province of BC, Canadian Heritage, Columbia Basin Trust and the BC Arts Council.
“Tonight we are starting our evening with a special thanks, to celebrate our community coming together to replace one of the key pieces of our building - our stage curtains,” said Olstead.
Following the many thanks and attributions was a concert by world renowned singing group The Celtic Tenors.
The Tenors have played in Cranbrook a few times in the past, and they took to the stage with energy and enthusiasm, celebrating both the renovated stage and curtains and fact that everyone could once again gather at Key City for a night of music and merriment.
corey.bullock@cranbrooktownsman.com
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