Greetings members,
It was not quite one year ago that 40 volunteers offered up a Saturday in December to come to the Civic and clean.  And clean they did. Every corner of that sad, neglected theatre was vacuumed and washed. Accumulated trash was removed in numerous dump runs. Filthy seat parts that had been stacked on the stage were moved for cleaning.  At the end of the day, we were ready for the next crew of volunteers who donated the time to prep and paint, to clean seat parts, modify seat parts and finally install the seats. By February, we were ready to show the first film in the Civic since 2010.

And, as you all know, by June, we had raised enough money to install digital equipment and a surround system that provide our patrons a truly fine cinema experience.  In one short year, we have achieved a lot. We are now programming films 5 days a week and hosting community group events on the dark days.

All of this would have been impossible without the generosity and the enormous goodwill of our community. We are a volunteer-run organization; we depend on you. I want to thank all of you who have put in the hours to help us get this far.  And I want to thank all of you, our valued members, for your support. We cannot do it without you.

We have an ambitious year ahead of us. By the end of December, we will have hired an architectural team to begin the design of the theatre renovation that will provide us with 3 screening rooms. That in turn will give us depth and flexibility in programming, essential to our financial sustainability. It will also provide us the venue for hosting more community events – film festivals, workshops, TEDTalks, webinars, live performance and rehearsal space. In short, it will take us that much closer to our goal of turning the Civic into Nelson’s Cultural Media Centre.

In the short term, our goals include the installation of air conditioning before the summer of 2014 (although at this point in the year you may be looking back fondly on this past summer’s sweltering heat), and upgrades to the concession. SIDIT (Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust) has pledged $50,000 if we can raise $130,000.

You can help. Your continuing support is essential to our success. Make a gift of your time by volunteering. Keep your membership up-to-date. Encourage your friends to support us. And, of course, a gift in the form of a cash donation will be most welcome. All cash gifts are eligible for a charitable receipt and can be made online through our website civictheatre.ca. You may also bring a cheque to the theatre. Cheques should be made out to the City of Nelson and earmarked Nelson Civic Theatre Society. If you would like any further information, please contact Roger Ley at roger@civictheatre.ca or call him directly at 509-2522. He would be delighted to chat with you about all things Civic.

In closing, on behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank you all again for your wonderful support. Happy Holidays.

Marilyn Mint
President,
NCTS