The Patricia Theatre

Now showing at the
Patricia Theatre

from the Powell River Peak

In 2008, the Historic Patricia Theatre will celebrate 95 years of continuous operation and 80 years in the "new" building. Thanks to the interest and involvement of the community, an unexpected early birthday gift has arrived in the form of 48 new seats at a substantially reduced cost. The Friends of the Historic Patricia Theatre and co-owners Ann Nelson and Brian Nelson are delighted that their goal of replacing all the seats is that much closer.

Brook Maguire of Shaw Cable TV contacted Ann Nelson and offered to do a story on the Patricia to renew awareness of the need for new seats. As a result of that program, Mark Kerr called to say that he had seen some used seats on the BC Auction website. Ann immediately followed up and found the seats to be hardly used and historically appropriate, with six ornamental cast iron end stanchions included. An acquaintance in the industry valued the lot at $18,000.

The bidding started at $11 for the entire lot. Two weeks, and one very anxious final day of bidding later, Ann put in the winning bid of $2,500. Another $1,000 brought the seats to Powell River, saving a very impressive $14,500. Brian, with the help of Al Lalande, installed 44 of the new seats over several days in the loge boxes, the rows in front of the boxes and in the balcony.

Replacing the seats in the Patricia has been an ongoing challenge for a number of years. The sloped floor requires that each chair be specific to its location, which means that all the chairs must be replaced at once. For even mid-line chairs, the cost is projected at $85,000.

To meet the financial challenge of replacing the seats and undertaking other needed restoration, Roberta Pearson, along with Ann and other local cinema buffs, started the Friends of the Historic Patricia Theatre in 2005. In addition to fund raising events, the group started a seat sponsorship campaign. To date 25 per cent of the total funds needed for the seats has been raised through corporate pledges, individuals and families. Ann said, "Next month we will use money raised from events to install a seating plan board in the lobby of the theatre that will have plaques for each of the contributors."

A challenge that will come when all the new seats are purchased is how to dispose of the old seats in a way that is not detrimental to the environment. Ann says that they are open to any suggestions people have to offer. It's already been suggested the seats be sold to individuals for home theatres as part of the ongoing fundraising.

"The willingness of the community to support the project and invest their energy gives us hope that our goal will be reached sooner rather then later, " said Ann. "When that time comes, no one will ever have to miss sharing the big-screen experience because of seats that hurt their backs," she added with a smile.

©The Powell River Peak 2008

↑ back to top

from the Powell River Peak

Royal BC Museum (RBCM) unveiled its plans to celebrate the province's sesquicentennial year 150th last Monday. November 19 was the 149th anniversary of the day British Columbia became a Crown colony.

Free Spirit: Stories of You, Me and BC is a five-part project that began with the launch of an interactive website and continues into early 2009, with an original exhibition, special events program, travelling exhibit and souvenir book.

"British Columbia's story is populated with innovators, adventurers, creative thinkers and trend setters," said RBCM CEO Pauline Rafferty at the launch. "This project is a chance to celebrate and to explore that story. It is also an opportunity for the Royal BC Museum to connect with British Columbians and invite them to join us in exploring our collective heritage."

Two Powell River stories were the first from a community to be unloaded to the site. Ann Nelson was invited to the launch to talk about the Patricia Theatre, the oldest continuously operating movie company in Canada.

"I'm a museum and I live in a museum, sharing my living quarters with several ghosts," she told the launch audience.

"People like me, who are entrusted with our community's history, love what we do. I'm thrilled to have been part of the website launch and the event today."

After the formal presentation, Nelson was interviewed by print, radio and television reporters, who were intrigued by her description of the old theatre and its inhabitants.

The Teeshoe story is the second one on the website. It is told by the only survivor of the tug's sinking, Fred Ilott, who was 12, and includes video and audio clips from the documentary produced by filmmaker Jan Padgett through the company Bear Productions.

The People's History component of the new website encourages all British Columbians to submit personal stories about the province and their connections to it. Through text, photographic, video and audio submissions, the searchable site will create a fresh chapter in BC history.

The exhibition, Free Spirit: Stories of You, Me and BC, features hundreds of rarely seen artifacts, specimens and documents from the RBCM collections. Already under construction, the exhibition will run from March 13, 2008 to January 11, 2009. Tickets go on sale in January 2008.

Readers are invited to go to www.freespiritbc.ca for more information about all aspects of the project.

— Click to see Powell River Peak story

↑ back to top