ANNAPOLIS ROYAL, N.S. —

The federal government is investing $485,000 in Annapolis Royal’s historic King’s Theatre to help upgrade the physical building and website.

Maryam Monsef, federal minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, made the announcement early Wednesday evening via a Zoom online news conference on behalf of  Mélanie Joly, minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for ACOA, and Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage.

“We know this has been a really difficult time for the sector, for artists and creators, and we do desperately need you to continue to do what you do so well to keep our spirits up and to tell our stories,” Monsef said.

“I know that it has been a challenging year, but in the spirit of your 100th birthday, King’s Theatre, let us reflect on all the challenges that you have overcome over the past century and all the changes that you have shaped and were witness to, from a Depression to a world war, to women entering the workforce, beginning to get the right to vote, the advancements in technologies, computers, internet, we sent people to space and all the while, you stood there solid, grounded in community.”

She lauded the theatre for leading the way on moving to virtual performances and video on demand during the pandemic, mentioning that the important tourism and community attraction drew more than 60,000 visitors annually before COVID-19.

ACOA is providing $251,000  of the total through the Innovative Communities Fund. Heritage Canada is providing $234,000 from the Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage program.

Janet Larkman, executive director of King’s Theatre, called the funding “a very significant investment in King’s Theatre, which is, by extension, also an investment in the town of Annapolis Royal and the surrounding communities.”

Larkman said the theatre needs a new roof, better insulation, electrical upgrades and variety of other structural repairs.

The money will also go toward the installation of solar panels to reduce the theatre’s carbon footprint and lower operating costs, she said.

The stage lighting equipment and structural rigging that supports it will also be upgraded.

The funds will also help expand the theatre’s virtual capabilities with improving the web platform and updating the ticketing system as well as investing in video equipment.

“All of this will help King’s Theatre to grow and adapt to the ever-changing world that we’re in,” Larkman said. “But, at the same time, we promise to keep our focus on making sure that everyone feels welcome here in this real, physical community space.”

Work already began on some of the upgrades before Christmas, taking advantage of the mandated closure due to COVID-19’s second wave mitigation efforts.

“But the new roof and the panels and so on can’t happen until the spring,” Larkman said. “And also the work that we’re doing on the lighting system, there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes planning work that is being done. So, our goal is to have everything complete by the beginning of September, which is when we are kicking off our centennial celebrations.”

What was planned to be a year-long celebration is now focused on the fall, she said.

“We may not be celebrating the King’s Theatre centennial year in quite the ways that we had envisioned over a year ago, but undertaking this project enables us to celebrate in ways that will create a legacy that resonates long into the future.”

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