There is general consensus that Kelowna should have a new performing arts center. There’s only one thing that gets in the way.

Money. About $ 67 million to be precise.

That’s why Kelowna citizens are working to build public support for a new performing arts center.

NowMedia spoke to the group’s spokesperson, Patricia Ainslie, outside what is now the Kelowna Community Theater, which is now nearly sixty years old.

“At the time, our population was around 15,000,” Ainslie points out. “Our population is now about 143,000.”

<who>Photo credit: NowMedia </who>“src =” https://www.kelownanow.com/files/files/images/01157_00_02_24_13_Still002.jpg “style =” margin: 5px; “/></p> <p>Like many people who are interested in art, there is a penchant for the old theater but with an understanding that its time has come. </p> <p>“This is a very vibrant city with all kinds of facilities,” said Ainslie. “And what we need is a performing arts center that really fits the ambitions of this great city.”</p> <p>The group envisions a new, larger, better-equipped theater in a project that also includes a smaller, more intimate theater.</p> <p>Ainslie said there are big shows that can’t stop in Kelowna because of insufficient equipment. $ 67 million may sound like a lot, but the longer we wait to replace it, the more expensive it gets. </p> <p>“I think the city has experience with the new Parkinson Rec Center, which costs $ 100 million. I think that fits in very well with that.”</p> <p><img alt=Photo Credit: Contributed “src =” https://www.kelownanow.com/files/files/images/Collage-credited.jpg “style =” margin: 5px; “/>

The group believes that with public support it can come together over the next five years.

“The city has grown to a point,” said Ainslie. “We lived with this theater, we will have lived with it for over 60 years by then and it really has to be renewed.”

There is support for the idea in the town hall and planning is ongoing, but there is no funding yet.

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