The seats at the Anne Portnuff Theatre need to be replaced, and the various user groups that use the theatre are working to raise the estimated $300,000 needed to replace all 724 seats. They received a major boost thanks to the Community Initiatives Fund, which is pitching in $25,000 to the project.
Yorkton MLA Greg Ottenbreit presented the funds to the Portnuff Revitalization Funding Partners, and says that the project is a fit with the mandate of the fund, which is to support individual and community quality of life and wellbeing.
The project is among the 274 grants being issued after the most recent application deadline, for a total of $4.5 million issued provincially.
The CIF matches funds from the community, and they are matching funds provided by the Good Spirit School Division, which is contributing $54,000 thanks to a per-seat levy that was collected in anticipation of the project.
Beyond representing the province with the Community Futures Grant, Ottenbreit believes in the project personally. His family has purchased two seats, and he believes says he knows first hand how important the theatre is, both to the school and the city as a whole.
“As a former alumni of the Yorkton Regional High School, growing up and using this theatre and this school, I know these seats, most of them were put in between 1967-69, when the school was built and they’re obviously in dire need of replacing, you can see duct tape and different shades of the colour. As a former student, I know the importance of the theatre for the student body, but also as somebody who has lived in this community my whole life, I know the importance of the theatre to this community as well.”
While the CIF dollars are a benefit to the project, the fund is not yet at the $300,000 needed for the project. They encourage people to consider buying a seat for the project for $350, but will be happy with any contribution to the project. They can be found at www.theanneportnuff.ca, a website donated by UncommonSense Business Solutions.
