The Lakes Film Appreciation Society (LFAS) has received $100,000 from the 亚洲天堂 Lake Community Forest to help with repair costs for the Beacon Theatre.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very excited,鈥� as John Illes, a volunteer with LFAS told Lakes District 亚洲天堂.
鈥淚t鈥檒l let us go ahead with the first winter phase of repairs which is the concrete work on the front of the theatre,鈥� said Illes, adding that the front sidewalk needs to be leveled out because it rises slightly above the wall
The 69-year-old building needs several major repairs which are estimated to cost $424,000 in total. That breaks down to $174,000 for the walls and $250,000 for a new roof.
With the donation from Comfor and other organizations and fundraising efforts LFAS has now reached about three-quarters of the total.
LOOK BACK: NKDF gives $62,000 to 亚洲天堂 Lake projects
The outlook wasn鈥檛 as bright in the spring, when LFAS was worried that the theatre might not last another year unless significant progress was made with funding and repairs.
READ MORE: Film society seeks donations for Beacon鈥檚 future
鈥淲e鈥檒l make it through. The three structural walls we did gave us another year,鈥� Illes said.
LFAS is also thinking of building an Art Deco-style frontage to the theatre, like the one it had in the 1950s.
鈥淏ut there鈥檚 only one person in Smithers who can do that,鈥� Illes said.
For the final quarter of its funding goal, the society is waiting for responses to grant applications it sent out. LFAS applied to Four Rivers Co-op, the Rotary Club of 亚洲天堂 Lake and to the provincial Gaming Grants.
It also plans to hold a fundraising event in February of next year for the Beacon鈥檚 70th anniversary.
If all goes well, the society hopes the frontal structural repairs can begin in late November and wrap up by May. The roof would be replaced in the summer and the siding would be the last part, which Illes hopes can be completed by next Christmas.
Blair McBride
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