Linda Douglas, President of the Kimberley Arts council at Centre 64, made a presentation to Kimberley Council on Monday, November 28, 2022 regarding the Arts Council’s three-year strategic plan.
While the strategic plan is quite detailed, one of the primary goals is to finalize plans for the parking lot beside the building. The Arts Council board has decided, after a great deal of discussion, to use that space for the creation of a permanent outdoor stage and park setting for outdoor concerts.
The Arts Council has held many very successful outdoor concerts in that location with temporary stages and tents.
The outdoor stage will be funded through the city of Kimberley’s Resort Destination funding, with the Columbia Basin Trust providing 80 per cent of costs for development and design.
Earlier this year, the city sought community input into the opening of $170,000 in year one and $125,000 in year two from the Resort Municipality strategy, and one of the priority projects identified was an outdoor stage.
Douglas explained that while the Arts Council had considered using the parking lot for an expansion to Centre 64 or a makers’ space building, it came down to sustainable funding.
“It came down to money,” she said. “How do we continue to fund another building. It’s difficult to fund the operations we have now. We’re a busy place and would love to do more but there are only so many resources available.”
In addition to the planning and building of the park and outdoor stage, the Kimberley Arts Council will be looking at updating the Cultural Plan, which was last done in 2009.
“Arts and culture play a large role in making Kimberley a good place to be,” Douglas said.
READ: City of Kimberley prioritizes RMI funding projects
carolyn.grant@kimberleybulletin.com
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