New theatre a jewel for Seven Oaks SD

 

The Seven Oaks School Division is proud to announce the completion of its posh, new 526 seat theatre and concert venue for students and community usage for residents of northwest Winnipeg and beyond.

 

The Seven Oaks Performing Arts Centre is attached to the west side of the Garden City Collegiate at 71 Jefferson Ave.

The much-needed $7.7 million theatre/multipurpose centre was a vision of the school division. Huge financial contributions were made by the Canada 150 Infrastructure program ($500,000) through (MaryAnn Mihychuk, member of Parliament for Kildonan-St. Paul, a City of Winnipeg community incentive grant ($87,000) through Coun. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan), with support from Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski). The Richardson Foundation added $150,000.

Many organizations, such as Sikh Temples (Gurudwaras), individuals and small business such as Master Roofing also made contributions.

A fundraising campaign involving the purchase of permanent nameplates for theatre seats is ongoing

The great news is that the centre is now booking community events. The proposed rental rate is $1,200 for commercial events and $800 for community/non-profit organizations. For more information contact theatre manager Ben Ross by emailing ben.ross@7oaks.org, or calling 204-339-2058, ext. 6107

Seven Oaks students are recognized for their rich arts programs. Now the 25 schools in the division will no longer have to rent large venues. "

The creation of the Seven Oaks Performing Arts Centre shows a commitment to the arts within our schools and to our local community. All our schools are tremendously excited to have access to this new, state-of-the-art facility," said Tony Kreml, principal of Garden City Collegiate.

It is estimated that every year,  over 75,000 people will use the theatre. 

 

Derek Dabee is a community correspondent for The Maples. You can contact him at ddabee@mymts.net