JASON ASBELL
Can you guess how many films and other events have been presented at The Civic Theatre since the beginning of 2018? You might be amazed by the number - we were, when we added them up. The total is 105.
That is a lot of content, especially for one theatre, but it is worth celebrating because it shows that we are meeting our goal of offering diverse content and experiences to a multitude of audiences of various ages and interests.
Inevitably, every few days we hear the following though: “I sure wish I’d known about that event before, because I would have loved to have come!” We do try though: our content goes out through the Nelson Star, our weekly newsletter, printed flyers, social media like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, our screen advertising, our website, and our historic marquee.
In the last few years, we have started a number of social engagement activities like our weekly Films with Friends program, where people have the chance to meet up with other filmgoers before the Thursday night movie, so that they don’t have to go alone, our monthly Screen-Based Industry meet ups (open to everyone), and events like last week’s indigenous art and activism series and copresentation of films with Kalein Hospice Society.
Chances are you have heard about one or two of these things, but not all of them. With so much going on, our capacity to advertise these diverse programs is limited.
Enter the Great Canadian Giving Challenge, a Canadahelps.org campaign promoting giving to projects across Canada throughout the month of June. Funds raised for The Civic Theatre through this campaign will support our ability to reach the people who would appreciate them most.
During this month, every gift made will enter The Civic Theatre into a draw to win $10,000, which we would use to support our free programs for youth, families, and seniors, including pre- and post-screening conversations and talk-backs, community education opportunities, and annual family-oriented events like the Zombie Walk and Home for the Holidays. We would also use it to further develop partnerships with community organizations to amplify their work,
If you would like to make a gift to Nelson Civic Theatre Society in June, please visit givingchallenge.ca.
And of course, I should probably tell you about the coming week. We are pleased to be presenting Tully (from the creators of Juno) and Disobedience, in which a woman returns to the religious Jewish community that shunned her for her attraction to a childhood friend (both start Friday, June 8), and the documentary RBG, which looks at the life and work of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Sunday, June 10 and Thursday, June 14 - preceded by Films with Friends!) .
We are partnering with West Kootenay EcoSociety in screening the documentary Directly Affected: Pipeline Under Pressure, which weaves together the stories of people and processes surrounding the Trans Mountain Pipeline Project (Monday, June 11).
Finally, on Wednesday, June 13, Freeride Entertainment premieres their newest film, North of Nightfall. Join Darren Berrecloth, Carson Storch, Cam Zink and Tom Van Steenbergen as they embark on an expedition to the Arctic to explore this relatively unknown land.
That makes 111, and counting.
Jason Asbell is the Programmer, Theatre Manager and number counter for The Civic Theatre.