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LETTERS: So close to a crucial point for Penmar

My little two bits, before it is too late, on the Penmar.

A lot has been done, said and written about the issue of the good, old Penmar in the last couple of years and I thought that I should contribute my little two bits before it is too late.

And too late it will be at the end of March this year. I don’t exactly flood the papers with letters. In fact, I write extremely rarely. For me to write, I must be prompted by very strong feelings pertaining to an issue — and this time my feelings are very strong indeed.

I remember well the days of the old Pen-Hi and its auditorium. Yes, it was old, it had its shortcomings, but it had two important attributes: it could seat over 700 people and, most importantly, it had very good acoustics. Its demolition was, in my opinion, one of the biggest blunders the school board of the day and the city have made, and the community let it happen.

Being a more or less regular patron of the Okanagan Symphony concerts and the performances put on by the Community Concert Association, I remember the unhappy period of the Community Centre renovations resulting in the temporary closure of the Cleland Theatre and the  various, mostly badly inadequate venues where these concerts had to be held. The Cleland is back in operation, but disappointingly, the attendance is rather low; at the last, recent two concerts I noticed that its approximately 400 seats were one-quarter to one-third empty, a far cry from the Pen-Hi auditorium being often filled to near capacity.

I know there are various reasons for the low attendance. That is a different issue, but I wonder how much it is due to the Cleland acoustics being so dismal.

I also remember the excitement of planning and the anticipation of building a new performing arts centre. Lots of people put a great deal of effort into it and I applaud. But, a few years down the road, where are we? It is still only a dream. Considering the current economic climate and the future outlook, the pessimist in me worries that I will not live long enough to see it come to pass.

And that brings me back to the old/new Penmar. As you very likely know, the Penmar Community Arts Society is trying to resurrect the old theatre and make it into a valuable asset for the community. Enough has been written about it, I do not need to repeat the description of their plans. If you care, please visit their web site at penmar.ca and refresh your memory, or learn about the planned and partly executed project.

I am not trying to make any comparisons between the planned Performing Arts Centre and the resurrected Penmar. They cannot be compared. The latter can never be a substitute for the former. But in the absence of the former for many years to come, the Penmar would serve many needs of the community. There is talk about an auditorium with near 1,000 seat capacity. Engineered acoustics? A possibility. Three movie theatres? A reality. Future programming? That will be up to us, but I hope there will be a chance to see movies with more artistic value than the blockbusters currently in vogue and in general what Hollywood feeds us.

It all can happen. We are so very close to a crucial point of opening the doors, which will launch a new chapter in the efforts of the society, generation of revenue, grant funding etc. So many individuals, businesses and organizations have contributed to this project and it is all threatened, if we do not open the doors. And that means we need to raise some more money.

We live in a wonderful part of the world and we have so many reasons to be really proud of our community. It is heartwarming indeed to read about the generosity of our citizens and organizations in respect to the huge fundraising project for our hospital extension. That is big, important, needed and will be lasting.

Finally, here is the main point of this letter: fundraising. The Penmar Society needs your support. It may seem callous at this time to ask for financial contributions. Again, there is no comparison on any level with the big donation drive ongoing in this city. The only connection is that at this time, at the same time, another cause is in need of modest financial support. Read more about it and if you are so inclined and can afford it, make a contribution either in the form of a pledge which will not be cashed, unless the fundraising is successful and we do open the doors, or as a donation. Any amount, from $2 up. A tax receipt will be issued for a contribution over $50.

Together we can move beyond the dream.

Al Tinka

Penticton