A lot of talk, no action on performing arts theatre

Arriving home late in the evening of Oct. 19, Barb Berger — the City’s arts, culture and heritage manager — sent an email from her iPhone. The subject line was “Yahoo!”

“Hi Peter,” she wrote. “Just back from the coast and heard your press conference and so thrilled with your vision! Very exciting!! Barb.”

The object of Berger’s excitement was Peter Milobar’s election-campaign declaration that Kamloops needs a new performing arts centre.

One can imagine the mayor blushing at such praise, for “your vision” — as Berger called it — was actually cadged for his election platform from an objective in the City’s strategic plan written before his time.

When he said he’d like to see something started within the next three years, it happily coincided with the 2015 construction timeline long identified in that same strat plan.

But just as a performing arts centre is not his brainchild, neither can Milobar be blamed for the fact the City doesn’t yet have one. That sits squarely on the shoulders of the main players in the local arts community, primarily Western Canada Theatre.

Ten years ago, the community had a choice. It could spend $2 million to renovate the Sagebrush Theatre, or put that $2 million toward a brand new performing arts centre, estimated at the time to cost around $15 million. It could even be put to a referendum at the next election.

Instead of being excited at the prospect, WTC balked. The reason — feared loss of the theatre company’s bread-and-butter rental income from the Sagebrush.

Kamloops Symphony Orchestra conductor Bruce Dunn loved the prospect of a new centre, and urged the City to push ahead. But the symphony’s board demurred, preferring the near-term carrot of a $200,000 acoustics shell in the old Sagebrush to waiting for a new centre.

Without the support of the major tenants, the idea was shelved and money was put into the Sagebrush instead. But City Hall bided its time.

Two years later the City unveiled the Kamloops Cultural Strategic Plan. Its centerpiece was a multi-use performing arts centre that would be built within the next five to seven years. Insiders figured 10 was more realistic.

It remains, to this day, incubating in the City’s strategic plan as the community waits, like Godot, for it to arrive. “Performing arts centre — target 2015,” it says.

Now, then, is the time for a mayor to take up the vision, to champion the cause. But bringing the vision out of the closet requires a change of heart in an arts community that has a history of not getting its act together.

The symphony, though, is sounding more positive. And Lori Marchand of Western Canada Theatre is cautiously interested, maybe even excited, depending on a lot of things.

Meanwhile, there has been a heavy price for procrastination. Burnaby’s award-winning Shadbolt Centre for the Arts — which Berger toured this past summer — was built in 1995 for a mere $3 million.

The Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre recently celebrated its 10^th anniversary — finished in 2001 for less than $10 million (built at the same time Kamloops was wringing its hands over what to do).

These days, the number bruited about for a new Kamloops centre is $30 million.