Revelstoke Arts Council appeals for city funds to support Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre

The Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre (RPAC) has funded its slim team of staff through fundraising since it began four years ago, but now it’s appealing to the city to sustain its future.

The Revelstoke Arts Council has requested that the City of Revelstoke and School District No. 19 commit $10,000 to help cover the theatre manager’s annual salary of $22,000.

RPAC’s theatre manager responsibilities take on the bulk of centre’s operation including marketing, bookings and programming. Council will listen to a presentation from the theatre’s manager Miriam Manley at the meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 12 before debating what to do.

“This funding will enable the Revelstoke Arts Council to continue operating the Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre, and thereby leverage large amounts of programming funds and offer the variety of performing arts opportunities the community has become accustomed to,” Manley said.

City staff have recommended allocating the extra funding from the Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) so there is no additional cost to the city. The continuous supply of this funding would be dependent on the province continuing the RMI initiative past 2017. Fundraising will still be required to cover costs for programming, marketing and technician support.

Since the RPAC began operating in 2012, its hosted events have increased from 34 to 76 and from 4,946 spectators to about 7,500.

See the full council report here.